The Art Of Succeeding By Building On Small Failures
By: Geri Stengel
Not many businesses — fewer than 1% — become middle-market firms, according to the Dun & Bradstreet database. These firms generate between $10 million and $1 billion in revenue. Between 2011 and 2017, the number of women-owned, middle market firms jumped 120%. Women have increased their share of middle market businesses from 6% in 2011 to 7% in 2017, according to Middle Market Power Index: Economic Might of Middle Market Firms by American Express and Dun & Bradstreet.
Hannah Kain is one of those women. Her company, ALOM, was founded in 1997 and is now a global player. Kain realized that technology-driven organizations needed to focus on innovation so she made it possible for them to outsource entire segments of their supply chain, from software duplication and distribution to marketing. Clients are as diverse as Ford, 23andMe and the U.S. Navy.
Rather than being first in the field, she chose to be best in the field, making a strategic decision to develop software agilely, in her own time. That agility has been key to growing into a middle market success. Whether you’re creating a new product or a business model, you can do a better job if you take small, iterative steps, testing each to see if it works, fixing any problems, then moving on to the next step. “Failure can be your friend,” said Kain.
An agile process works not just in technology but for any product or service. It is a series of steps that allow you to come up with and test solutions to a problem before investing too much time or money in any one idea. You get feedback early and often, with “no waterfalls.” In a “waterfall” development process — the way things used to be done — a solution was devised, put on the market, then you waited many months before you got feedback from customers. With agile development, investment is minimized. You put a toe in the water before diving in.
Succeeding while sometimes failing has become a competitive advantage for ALOM, which focuses on solving big, complex problems for companies, from delivering products to both retailers and consumers while coordinating returns or sending replacement units at regular intervals.
Twenty years ago, mail-order products were delivered in 4 to 6 weeks. If there was a natural disaster, oh, well, your delivery just took longer. ALOM helps companies deliver products in days — sometimes on the same day — not weeks, even if there is a Harvey, Irma or Maria or even a political upheaval in another country. ALOM’s system can easily move to “Plan B ”and reroute delivery processes for its clients.
Key to being agile is a system that anticipates the future. To do that, Kain not only asks clients about the problem that needs to be solved, but she also asks them what, in their wildest dreams, the solution would look like.
Using this approach, ALOM builds systems for clients that provide transparency into their supply chain so their customers know, for example, that no child or slave labor was used. Or that suppliers are diverse. ALOM software helps clients ensure that subcontractors adhere to regulations, such as cross-border trade regulations, subcontractor practices and workplace conditions.
How are you using failures to grow your company?
[ Source: Forbes ]
All posts in this blog are my own personal views (unless explicitly mentioned otherwise) and are not to be associated with any organization or institution related to me.