Does Organisation Planning come before or after Business Growth Plan?
As we wrap up this skilleton on growth team structures, we go into the critical intersection of growth planning and organizational structure planning.
This concept explores how businesses can align their organizational structure planning with their growth strategies, particularly focusing on the importance of understanding internal business strengths.
Benchmarking and Understanding Business Strengths:
Before finalizing an organizational structure, it is crucial for businesses to benchmark against similar companies within their category and to clearly identify their own core strengths—be it product innovation, performance marketing prowess, or content-driven growth. This understanding guides the structuring of growth teams that are best suited to use these strengths effectively.
Example: A tech startup might recognize that its strength lies in rapid product iteration and user-driven development, prompting it to prioritize a product-led growth team structure over heavy investment in marketing or sales teams.
Flexibility with Generalists in Uncertain Growth Models:
In scenarios where a business is unsure of its growth model or monetization strategy, it is advisable to start with generalists who can navigate multiple areas. These generalists can be supplemented with specialist consultants as and when needed, ensuring that the business remains agile and avoids premature commitment to a specific growth path that may not align with evolving market conditions or business insights.
Example: An app company uncertain about the efficacy of performance marketing might hire a generalist to explore various marketing strategies while consulting with a performance marketing expert to guide experiments without fully committing to hiring a full-time specialist.
Iterative Growth and Organizational Planning:
Effective growth planning often precedes organizational planning, but both should evolve iteratively. As a business's growth plan matures and becomes more defined, the organizational structure should adapt to support this evolution, ensuring that the teams are structured to best support the current and future growth trajectories.
Example: As an e-commerce platform grows and identifies that its major growth lever is through AI-driven personalized recommendations, it might shift from a generalist-led product team to hiring more AI specialists and data scientists to better exploit this growth opportunity.
Takeaway:
Aligning organizational structure with strategic growth planning is essential for emerging businesses. Starting with a flexible approach that includes generalists and using specialist consultants when necessary allows companies to adapt and refine their growth strategies effectively.
As these strategies become more defined, the organizational structure should also evolve to support specific growth needs, ensuring that the company remains competitive and responsive to market demands.