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THE OPERATING CYCLE: THE KEY TO SUSTAINABLE GROWTH
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The Operating Cycle: The Key to Sustainable GrowthLast week, we talked about the planning cycle. When done well, the planning cycle can lead to the growth or operating cycles. But if you haven’t gone through an operating cycle, a growth cycle could break your business. So today, we’re going to talk about the purpose and rhythms of the operating cycle, as well as how you build a culture that values the operating cycle. Everyone gets excited for growth, but very few get excited for consistent execution. Small businesses that are growing can look really successful for a long time… until they’re not. And that “not” comes because they didn’t set up the consistent rhythms that are needed to continue growing their business. When you start with planning, you get clarity. When you then transition to an operating cycle, you get rhythm and resiliency. The Operating Cycle is what keeps the plan alive long enough to work. It’s how you turn strategy into predictable performance… not through brilliance or hustle, but through rhythm and discipline. And I want to be clear: this isn’t about perfection. It’s about predictability. Structure gives you the space to lead, think, and improve no matter what goes wrong. When you don’t have the structure, each week means a new problem and more panic. Business is weird in that we can go from one panic to the next. By creating the right operating rhythms, we can navigate that panic more consistently. THE RHYTHMS OF THE OPERATING CYCLETHE FINANCIAL RHYTHMWithout cash, a business dies. It’s the heartbeat. The run a good operation, you need a deep understanding of cash in your business. When you understand its rhythm, you build confidence and eliminate surprises. To optimize the finance rhythm within the operating cycle, you need consistency:
Financial clarity gives leadership confidence, and confident leadership builds calmer, steadier businesses. By keeping these rhythms, you create stability that ultimately builds a great foundation for a business to catapult itself into the growth cycle. THE TEAM RHYTHMThe team rhythm keeps everyone rowing in the same direction. This can look like:
Boring meetings done consistently beat exciting meetings done occasionally. Consistent alignments sets you up to execute and achieve your goals, which means you’re more likely to enter into a growth cycle. THE SYSTEM RHYTHMGreat operators don’t run perfect systems. They run learning systems. To enter into a growth cycle, you need to setup systems that allow your business to grow without growing pains. This looks like:
Each cycle is a feedback loop. The more you refine it, the more efficient you become. Improvement compounds. BUILDING AN OPERATING CULTUREA strong operating rhythm builds a resilient business. But to make it a part of your culture, you can’t leave it to chance. Here’s how great companies make it cultural:
When rhythm becomes culture, execution becomes effortless. The business starts to self-correct. Leadership can step away without losing momentum. The goal isn’t control… it’s confidence and execution. Rhythm builds both. When your planning gives clarity and your operations build rhythm, growth becomes the natural next step. Next, we’ll look at the Growth Cycle and **how to scale without breaking the system that got you here. Thanks for reading–see you next week, Work with meNeed more than this newsletter? You may not know, I have other ways we can work together. Check them out:
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Get smarter about business finance in 5 minutes a week. Join 35k+ business owners and leaders learning financial statements and growing their business, for free.