Discover Your "Hidden" Organisation and Use It to Grow Your Business

 Discover Your "Hidden" Organisation and Use It to Grow Your Business

Have you ever pondered the secret to why some company owners see meteoric rises in revenue while others see stagnation or even declines? Their capacity to identify and direct their "hidden" organisation is their greatest strength. If your company is run by a "gang of one" or has a small number of employees, you might not realise that there is an organisation, hidden or otherwise. The truth is, though, that even the most modest enterprises are structured in some way, and whether you succeed or fail depends on your capacity to identify that structure and then direct it such that it produces more of the outcomes you desire.

Perhaps this is an entirely novel idea to think about. Large companies are often conceptualised as having departments or divisions. The term "internal stakeholders" refers to the paid staff, departments, and committees that make up an organisation. On the other hand, major corporations are beginning to understand that "external stakeholders" such as consumers, suppliers, outsource providers, alliance partners, and independent consultants are just as important to their success as internal stakeholders.

Your company has its own set of external stakeholders that form your hidden organisation, just as your customers' organisations have their own set of stakeholders. You have a better chance of surviving economic storms, reducing issues, and expanding your business to new heights if you get good at identifying and capitalising on the strength of these many partnerships.

Who are the members of your clandestine group?

Recognising all of the people and groups with a stake in your company's success can be a daunting task. Some of these connections are readily apparent, but others are more subtle and easier to miss or fail to appreciate. On the other hand, if you consider the following entities to be external stakeholders—that is, those that have an interest in your company's success—regardless of whether they acknowledge it or not:

•Payroll services, virtual assistants, and other outsourcing providers •Suppliers •Customers
•Consultants, business coaches, bankers, accountants, lawyers, etc.
•Partners in an alliance •Subcontractors in the project •Others in the industry •Associations to which you belong in business and commerce •Boards of advisors

Uncovering the vast array of support, information, expertise, capacity, and assets that are accessible through your stakeholders allows you to provide goods and services in ways you would not have imagined previously. A speciality apparel designer, for instance, who had just one shopfront before forming a partnership with an internet distributor, is now able to serve clients all over the globe. Limited alliances offer a lot of benefits, even for competitors. If you seek them out, the opportunities for advancement are present.

You can make your own "organisational chart" to show how external stakeholders fulfil crucial duties and responsibilities for running a firm, just like big corporations use them to show the functions of departments and the roles of staff. Your "executive team" should include key individuals such as your accountant, lawyer, and insurance agent. All parties involved in the production and distribution of your goods and services, including clients, business associates, and third-party vendors, are considered members of your organisation.

Make careful to regularly update your organisation chart as you keep identifying stakeholders. Stakeholders' relative importance will fluctuate over time due to factors such as your own ambitions, those of your consumers, the introduction of new technologies, and changes in the economy.

By refocusing your organization's goals to incorporate these and other external stakeholders, you can open your mind to new avenues for customer acquisition, capability development, and revenue and profit maximisation.

Heading up and overseeing your clandestine group
The following step, after finding your secret organisation, is to manage and lead it to success so that you may reach your growth goals.

What my clients refer to as "strategic gridlock" occurs when issues suddenly and persistently arise. Looking back, though, we can usually identify the root of the problem as a common yet erroneous assumption that we all make about our organisations depending on our own unique reality perceptions.

With these three questions in mind, you may start to reveal assumptions, avoid stagnation, and expand your business as you lead and manage your hidden organisation:

How does each stakeholder stand out from the others? No two stakeholders are the same, just as no two individuals are. However, it's simple to start interacting with others in a way that disregards their differences. If their beliefs and behaviours differ from yours, this could cause long-lasting issues. Each relationship can be maximised by taking into account the specific needs of each stakeholder.

To what extent can my stakeholders carry out my requests? Unexpected course corrections are commonplace when dealing with external stakeholders since their interests differ from yours. Staying in the loop with your external stakeholders through regular communication helps you avoid getting caught off guard by these problems and gives you time to prepare for them. Additionally, it notifies you of advancements that may lead to fresh chances for your professional progress.

Is it possible to get my stakeholders to do what I want? Outside parties may not always feel the same level of urgency or share your goals. They will be better able to avoid arguments, make better decisions, and negotiate solutions that are a "win" for everyone if you take the time to learn about their perspective on your goals and their requirements in relation to yours.

If you want to be a great leader and help your company overcome obstacles, you need to know who your stakeholders are, the problems they're facing, and how those problems could affect you. By routinely polling your stakeholders for their thoughts, you can face future problems with an eye towards organisational reality rather than personal assumption.

Unveil the true potential of your latent organisation

When it comes to engaging with external stakeholders, many entrepreneurs, particularly those who are accustomed to operating as "gangs of one," fail to see and take advantage of the numerous opportunities for growth and leveraging that present themselves.

Once you accept responsibility for building your own organisation, you'll find that the challenges of managing and leading any size organisation are the same. This is true whether you're running a solopreneur or a multinational conglomerate, because all businesses, no matter how small, have "hidden" organisations.

Uncover previously unrealised opportunities, sidestep organisational roadblocks, and soar to new heights of success by tapping into the power of your hidden organisation.

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