Find Your "Hidden" Organization And Watch Your Business Expand

Have you ever pondered the reasons why some business owners are able to see exponential growth while others see their ventures stagnate or even fail? Their "hidden" organization is the key to their success, and they know how to uncover it and run it. If you run a "gang of one" or a small corporation with only a few people, you might not think you have any kind of structure at all. But the reality is that even the tiniest firms have an organization, and whether you succeed or fail depends on your ability to identify and motivate this group to produce the outcomes you need.

This is possibly a brand-new way of thinking. It's natural to assume that large businesses have internal structures. "Internal stakeholders" are the people who are already on the payroll, such as employees, divisions, and boards. However, major corporations are beginning to understand that "external stakeholders" such as independent consultants, suppliers, outsource providers, alliance partners, customers, and others are also essential to the success of their business.

Your company is an integral element of the external organization of your clients, but it also has its own set of external stakeholders. The more adept you are at detecting and capitalizing on the power of these many ties, the better your chances will be of weathering economic storms, keeping problems to a minimum, and expanding to the next level.

Who exactly is a part of your clandestine group

Finding all the people and groups that have a stake in your company's success might be difficult. Some of these connections are more apparent than others, but it's easy to miss or minimize the significance of others. However, if you define an external stakeholder as everyone who has a vested interest in the success of your firm, whether or not they are willing to admit it, then your company includes, but is not limited to:

Customers, suppliers, and outsourcing firms (including those offering payroll and administrative support)

Guidance from professionals (legal counsel, financial advisers, bankers, business mentors, consultants, etc.)

In addition to your alliance partners, subcontractors, competitors, business and trade groups, and advisory boards, you should also reach out to:

You can provide your services and goods in ways you hadn't thought of before after you learn about all the available support, knowledge, skills, capabilities, and resources from your stakeholders. A designer of specialized clothes who previously only sold her wares in one store has expanded her business internationally by forming a partnership with an internet distributor. Some competitors have even discovered mutually beneficial ways to work together. If you want to develop, the options are out there.

You can make your own "organizational chart" to map out how external stakeholders fulfill crucial duties and responsibilities that are vital to running a business, just like major firms have organizational charts that map out the activities of departments and roles of personnel. People like your accountant, lawyer, and insurance agent all play crucial roles on your "executive team." Customers, as well as any alliance partners, outsource providers, or sub-contractors involved in the delivery of your products or services, are considered part of your firm.

Keep your organizational chart up-to-date as new stakeholders are discovered. Some stakeholders will become more essential than others over time, depending on factors such as your personal ambitions, the goals and wants of your consumers, advances in technology, and general economic and political climate changes.

You may better serve your consumers, grow your business, and find more lucrative avenues for expansion if you update your company's vision to incorporate these and other external stakeholders.

Taking charge of and managing your covert network

Once you've uncovered your secret organization, the real work begins: leading and managing it to achieve your expansion goals.

What I call "strategic gridlock" is what my clients tell me happens when they encounter challenges that don't go away, seemingly out of nowhere. When we take a step back, though, we can usually identify one or more widespread but incorrect assumptions that we have all made about our workplaces based on our own unique perspectives on the world.

Here are three questions to ask yourself on a regular basis as the leader and manager of your shadow organization in order to start uncovering assumptions, avoiding deadlock, and expanding your business.

What makes each stakeholder special? No two stakeholders are the same, just as no two people are the same. Even so, it's easy to adopt a method of interacting with others that fails to account for these distinctions. When their ideals and customs are at odds with your own, this might cause ongoing tension. Recognizing the differences between each stakeholder is key to maximizing the benefits of any given relationship.

Is it possible for my constituents to carry out my objectives? Changes in strategy are common when working with external stakeholders because they have their own priorities to consider. You may lessen the likelihood of being caught off guard by these problems by maintaining an open line of contact with your external stakeholders. It also helps you be aware of changes that may lead to better development chances.

Ask yourself: "Are my constituents on board with what I want?" However, external stakeholders don't always agree with your priorities. Managing disagreements, making better decisions, and negotiating solutions that are "win-win" for everyone requires a thorough understanding of how others see your goals and how their demands compare to yours.

Knowing your stakeholders, the problems they encounter, and how you could be affected by those problems is crucial if you want to completely meet organizational challenges and drive your organization to high performance results. If you routinely poll your stakeholders for their opinions, you can face any problems head-on from a position of fact rather than speculation.

Uncover the strength of your secret network

When it comes to leveraging and growing their businesses, many entrepreneurs, especially those accustomed to working as "gangs of one," neglect and underestimate the myriad ways in which they can operate in conjunction with their external stakeholders.

Because even the smallest businesses have "hidden" organizations within them, the same organizational principles apply to mega-corporations as well as to solo entrepreneurs once you realize that you are the architect of your own organization.

In order to reach new heights of success and take advantage of all the chances available to you, you need to tap into the potential of your hidden organization.