The Network of Enterneers®

It’s time to scale

We all know the different phases involved in building and expanding companies. It is said there are at least three, sometimes four, sometimes even broken down further into smaller steps. In all phase models, however, one important development step is always included: the growth and/or scaling phase.

If the difference between growth and scaling or hypergrowth is not immediately apparent, here is a brief differentiation, using an easy-to-understand example: In the growth phase following the founding of a bakery, the master baker now no longer spends most of her time in the bakery itself, as she did in the beginning, but must increasingly take care of the issues that arise ‘before’, ‘after’ and ‘adjacent to’ the actual bakery operations. She must recruit and train baking and specialist sales staff. She must handle more of the business’ purchasing and logistics tasks, and she must devote more detailed attention to the customer experience in her shop. So, her company is undergoing ‘conventional’ growth. However, if the master baker were now to decide during this development phase to set up several retail shops with centralised production and logistics structures, she would then be in the process of scaling her business. By scaling, she would be able to achieve exponential growth, so scaling is essentially an intensified form of growth. In our example, if the master baker were to establish products or a brand that were distributed with no regional or structural/organisational limitations and the business were to grow on an industrial scale, we would likely term this ‘hypergrowth’.

The leadership of our start-up is now faced with the concrete challenge of implementing professional structures in the areas of organisation, management, and leadership. Depending on the business model, these requirements can quickly reach a very high level of complexity and take on a dimension that is often quite daunting for anyone who is still inexperienced. This is when we advise management that the moment has come when they must absolutely devote more time to work ‘on’ the company.

Successful work ‘on’ the enterprise (which we refer to as ‘enterprise engineering’) must, however, be learned and practised. No matter how much business-related talent or creativity, capacity for innovation or enthusiasm an entrepreneur may have, not everyone has the inborn ability or heart for this task. It is not uncommon for the activities of long-established company management to be dominated by work ‘in’ the company: on the product or on the individual customer. This is neither bad nor embarrassing, but simply human. In my professional life, experience has shown that people with skills that are particularly suitable for work ‘on’ the company are not necessarily the best inventors or founders. But they are usually needed to help get a start-up through the first phase of its life. Either way, however, blocked or insufficient work ‘on’ the enterprise results in at least one success-limiting factor in the scaling process and may even prevent successful scaling – not to mention sustainable hypergrowth.

The importance of professional enterprise engineering is presently underscored by prevailing external factors. In addition to the aspects described above, we are currently experiencing external factors that include climate and demographic change as well as digitalisation, pandemics and, most recently, the consequences of war in Europe.

What can be done if there is a lack of sufficiently experienced individuals and/or available capacities at the C-level or in company management? Typically, alongside the founders, young, evolutionarily developing companies now create classic C-level departments and search out the most experienced people possible for this. In the past, there was one fairly common obstacle that had to be overcome, which was to establish the right conditions for attracting suitably qualified and professionally experienced CxOs and to be already broadcasting the firm’s attractiveness. These days, this obstacle is compounded by the fact that the labour shortage has long since reached the C-level, and more CxOs are retiring every month than are coming on board.

There are consultants on the market who specialise in sparring and transformation management in such situations, and they can provide valuable support. Some of them offer temporary sparring services as a Co-CxO in addition to the classic transformation and evolution support services described above. Enterneering® helps in defining and implementing appropriate change or development measures individually tailored to the specific constellation of your company. Learn more about it in our blog or find a suitable partner to support you.

About Entrepreneurship, Leadership and Management

Why is it so important for business leaders to be able to distinguish between the roles of entrepreneur, leader and manager? Successful entrepreneurs focus on vision and strategy; they guide their employees and remove obstacles from the path to success, much as an athletic coach does.

Why is it so important for business leaders to be able to distinguish between the roles of entrepreneur, leader and manager? The search for the correct answer likely has to do first and foremost with the deductions we make from observing our own thinking and actions. The larger and more complex the business and, thus the company itself becomes, the greater the extent to which staff and systems interact in different workflows, and the more that external stakeholders are involved, the more significant these deductions become. In practice, it can be observed that companies that grow successfully are usually managed by executives who consistently focus on their appropriate, sustainable role within the company.

Successful entrepreneurs focus on vision and strategy; they guide their employees and remove obstacles from the path to success, much as an athletic coach does. In contrast, managers typically focus more on the execution of tasks within the business. Leaders, on the other hand, deal with the staffing, equipping, empowerment, motivation and development of staff and business units. When managers also act like entrepreneurs, with a corresponding far-reaching scope of action and decision-making, they are also referred to as ‘intrapreneurs’. For the sake of simplicity, in what follows, no distinction is made between intrapreneur and entrepreneur.

Executive leadership involves providing a compelling vision and clear direction. Successful entrepreneurs clarify priorities and expectations, define employee roles and ensure that the structures and resources employees need to accomplish their tasks are in place.

The presence and authenticity with which entrepreneurs lead are crucial to employee job satisfaction. To engage today’s workforce, entrepreneurs must focus more on leading than managing. Many employees are seeking coaches who can help them develop their strengths and capitalise on them to provide added value for the company. This is especially true when it comes to the younger generation. Entrepreneurial success is also determined by the will and ability of the individual to carry out this role within the company.

Leading an effective company means gaining distance from the day-to-day business and focusing on a clear strategy and vision – the "whats" and "whys". The "hows” should be left to the management and the team. If you’re used to triaging problems, putting out fires and managing from a reactive standpoint, this can be challenging. But, as I’ve learned the hard way, the ability to proactively light the way is a learnable skill.

Managers Execute, Leaders Lead and
Entrepreneurs Inspire the Larger Picture

One fundamental aspect of leadership is directing people’s attention. To do so effectively, entrepreneurs first need to focus their own attention. Only once they have done this should they turn their focus to others, eventually concentrating on the big picture.

Self-awareness is the basis of emotional intelligence. Listening to our inner voice and paying close attention to internal physiological signals is critical. This also includes our gut feelings, the so-called “somatic markers” or sensations that tell us whether something feels right or wrong.

One decisive criterion is authenticity – being the same person to others as you are to yourself. This makes it important to pay attention to others’ views of you – especially those people whose opinions you value and whom you trust to give you honest feedback – and assess your own authentic impact.

Another decisive factor is cognitive control. This enables you to pursue your goals regardless of setbacks and distractions. Effective cognitive control is exhibited by entrepreneurs who can stay calm in a crisis, resist becoming agitated, and bounce back from disappointments and failures.

Empathy is an essential element for being able to successfully perceive other people. Entrepreneurs who can effectively focus on others are those whose opinions carry the most weight. They are able to find common ground and make people want to work with them.

We can distinguish three types of empathy that are important for effective leadership: cognitive empathy (understanding someone else’s perspective); emotional empathy (feeling what someone else feels); and empathic concern (sensing what someone else needs from you).

Finally, having an outward focus will help an entrepreneur become a good listener and a good questioner. Strategic thinking involves looking for ways to exploit your current advantages while exploring new ones.

An often-mentioned challenge for entrepreneurs is the mastering and continual adjustment of the never-ending balancing act between operational constraints and the targeted tasks for the larger picture. It can be exhausting and energy-draining to constantly have to direct your attention to this "outer, upper corner" of the action matrix.

Simple things can often be helpful in becoming and remaining successful:

Establish core values and follow them. Many companies speak publicly about their core values, but these can be hollow words if the decision-makers at the top of the company are not authentically exemplifying these values and if they are not being operationalized in any way. The magic happens once core values are ingrained into employees’ daily work lives and are driving more autonomous decision-making.

Nurture your own professional development. Too often, entrepreneurs assume responsibility for everyone else on their teams except themselves. Although there are times when all of us need to manage, entrepreneurs are usually proactive; managers are reactive. To be an effective entrepreneur, proactively set aside time for your own professional development.

Delegate consistently and professionally, actively protecting yourself from burn-out. If you try to do everything yourself, you will inevitably see diminishing returns on the time you invest. Successful entrepreneurs spend most of their time on tasks that utilise their own unique skills and abilities and leave the rest to others who are more competent in those areas.

Beware of toxic people and structures. Actively cultivate a cooperative, people- and success-oriented corporate culture. Eliminate negative situations and possible sources of toxic developments as early as possible. Give appropriate priority and resources to active development of the corporate cultural.

Ensure that your company has an integrated and operationalised strategy and implement it. Make the meaning and purpose of the company as well as the value of every person who works there transparent.

Measure performance and success and regularly look to the "outer, upper corner" of the action matrix.

If you need support or training in some of the areas described above, don’t be afraid to admit this. Seek out appropriate support and multipliers from within your company. These tasks are simply too critical and momentous to be managed with less than complete success.

When transformational and evolutionary pressures collide

Professional enterprise engineering is particularly essential at present. In addition to classic drivers, such as business growth, market expansion, system renewal, modernisation and rationalisation, we are also experiencing the impact of external factors, such as climate and demographic changes as well as digitalisation, pandemics and, most recently, the consequences of the war in Europe.

More and more often we find ourselves confronted with the following (or similar) situation:

Yesterday's start-up has successfully established itself on the market and now faces the challenge of expanding significantly or perhaps even scaling up. This young company must therefore successfully implement series production. The introduction of professional structures in the areas of organisation, management and leadership is an essential ingredient for success. [Evolution]

The founders or management team must progress from the early days of self-employment to entrepreneurship. What can be done if the management team, which has been heavily involved in the company itself, needs to do more work ‘on’ the company in the future, but still needs practical training in order to do so? [Evolution]

The numerous current global disruptions in the form of demographics, climate, pandemics and war have put entrepreneurs and managers in every sector under high pressure to enact change. [Transformation]

Taken in isolation, perhaps none of the factors listed above is anything unusual. However, the combination of all these factors during one development period is, in our view, an extraordinary constellation. [Disruption]

Successful work ‘on’ the business must be learned and practised. Not every entrepreneur takes this task as much to heart or has as much native talent for this as they do their business-related activities or creativity, innovative ability, and enthusiasm. It is not uncommon for management to be dominated by work ‘in’ the business, on the product or on the customer.

Learn more about successful work ‘on’ your business
Professional enterprise engineering is particularly essential at present. In addition to classic drivers, such as business growth, market expansion, system renewal, modernisation and rationalisation, we are also experiencing the impact of external factors, such as climate and demographic changes as well as digitalisation, pandemics and, most recently, the consequences of the war in Europe.

These disruptions have, at least in some part, put companies under pressure to enact changes within the organisation. Especially in medium-sized or young companies, this situation will require significant intensification of the work done ‘on’ the company. In some cases, there is a lack of sufficiently experienced staff and/or available capacities at C-level for this. In some unfavourable constellations, this challenge is compounded by company management that is young or less experienced in enterprise.

As is often the case in life, in this situation, the success of a company's growth depends first and foremost on the willingness and ability of those with overall responsibility to change. From our own long years of experience in a wide variety of corporate settings, we know that two key elements determine how and in which way a company deals with change or ongoing development. These are the knowledge and awareness of the current and foreseeable situation. This may sound banal, but in practicality, it is, unfortunately, far too often a major shortcoming. What is required are simple things that are sometimes very difficult to implement under high performance pressure, such as taking your time and consciously raising your head, widening your gaze and looking beyond the edge of the mountain of workload that can seem almost unsurmountable.

There are many different forms of support and tools for meeting these challenges. Regardless of whether the chosen approach includes independent study, in-house training, the development of additional staff with relevant know-how, support from external experts or a combination of these, successful work ‘on’ the company isn’t something that can be fit in after work, at the weekend or just as time permits. From our point of view, the cards are generally stacked against anyone who cannot acknowledge this and act accordingly.

Connecting People in Enterneering®

I want to raise awareness of both the term and the importance of Enterneering®. To do this, I have established a blog, drafted an editorial plan and provided resources. I am pleased to welcome all those who would like to follow me and who have an interest in the upcoming posts as well as in the topic in general. Incidentally, I would, of course, also be pleased to hear from anyone interested in obtaining my support as a sparring partner. 😉.

The idea of my Enterneering® blog basically arose from a typical start-up problem I encountered myself. After more than twenty years of working in different jobs and at different career levels, I decided to take my management skills and professional experience and make myself available as a sparring partner for other entrepreneurs and CxOs. In doing so, I have committed myself to a topic that has occupied me very strongly for many years and in whose importance and significance for successful corporate development I absolutely believe. It is what I refer to as work ‘on’ the company rather than ‘in’ the company. In order to focus even more intensely on this and bring my own strengths to the foreground as much as possible, I have designated a dedicated target area for myself: enterprise engineering in the areas of organisation, people and culture. I ultimately coined my own term for this – ‘Enterneering’ – which I have registered as a trademark.

So far, so good. Now all that's left to do is to acquire as many excellent, and above all suitable, orders and clients as possible. In doing so, the first move is clearly to search within my own network. Then comes the search on consulting platforms and, finally, expanding the network to include suitable social media, which provides good options. The obstacle I encounter here is that there is no really well-fitting search term or title for this specific range of services. What I essentially mean is a keyword under which both I and my potential clients can search and find each other.

You can learn more about this blog and me here.