The Business Cycle
In the cycle of life, a plateau is called maturity. The cycle of life is this: birth, growth, maturity, decline, and then ….
The business cycle follows this same natural cycle. Start-up, growth, maturity (e.g., a plateau), decline. Left unto itself, your business or organization is likely going to follow that natural progression.
Ask your typical entrepreneur. Start-up is fun. Growth is pretty cool. Plateaus and declines – not so much.
The Dreaded Plateau
You and your organization are somewhere in the business cycle. Ultimately, at some point, your organization will likely experience a plateau.
A plateau is normal or natural, but not so desirable in business.
- Plateaus do not respect organization size. It happens to small, medium, large, and even global organizations.
- But unlike our physical existence, God-willing, a plateau can be avoided or obviated.
- The antidote for a plateau is innovation [At Blue Elevator™, we call this our Innovate™ program].
How Do We Know You Are On A Plateau?
A plateau is merely a pattern. It is observing the same results over a period of time. Week after week. Month after month. Year after year. Whatever the measurement interval, a plateau is getting the same results for all of your efforts.
What’s So Bad About Being On A Plateau?
After, say, a period of meteoric growth, a plateau doesn’t look all that bad. Maybe it’s time to cool your jets for awhile. You need to recover from the frenetic pace. Clean things up a bit. Catch you breath before beginning your next Accelerate™ phase.
And all of that is fine. But consider this trustworthy saying:
“A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest – and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man.” – Proverbs 24:33-34
Don’t Get Caught Off Guard!
It’s okay to take a break and recover. They key is this: It’s important to know that plateaus happen. They can sneak up on you when you least expect them. You can be doing everything right as a business or an organization and find yourself on a plateau seemingly overnight.
A sudden shift or economic chill can disrupt or derail you in a heartbeat. I remember the effects of the 9/11 attacks that happened in the USA in 2001. This upset the apple cart, as did The Great Recession in 2008. Challenging times. A lot of businesses were caught off-guard.
The key is to be ready. To anticipate. And to continually innovate your business.
Let’s give credit where credit is due: Charles Handy suggests that a new sigmoid curve (e.g., growth) be pursued while things are going well. Handy makes the case for substantial and constant change.
Stay Ahead of The Curve
So, in essence, the idea is to stay “ahead of the curve.” That is, the part of the curve that deals with plateaus and declines. God-willing, you and your organization can challenge the business cycle.
Blue Elevator™ did not invent the business cycle. It is the cycle of life. And we credit Charles Handy for promulgating the idea continual re-invention.
A Great Opportunity
As a human being, escaping the cycle is unavoidable. But, God-willing, your business or organization doesn’t have to necessarily follow.
Based upon those concepts, we have created a graphical depiction of what we think is a healthy business cycle.
Scaling Graph
DEC
About the Author:
Ken Moll is the Principal and Founder of Blue Elevator®. With professional experience spanning four decades, Ken has a breadth of foundational business knowledge rarely found – making him part of an elite class of professionals. Ken's passion is helping clients of Blue Elevator® get their “business to the next level™.”