The 6-P's of Business
I've been mulling over what constitutes an effective business. Here is where I've landed... for now at least.
There are two broad categories, "What" and "How" which both break down into three (six total) component parts. I'm a sucker for alliteration so they all start with P.
None of this is revolutionary or ground breaking, so I make no claims. There are any number of influential books that I've read, conversations with people that have yielded insight, and experiential knowledge.
The "what" forms the foundation of the business. As simply (though naive) as I can put it:
- Purpose: The reason the business exists.
- People: The people internal and external to the business.
- Product: The goods or services the business provides.
The "how" describes the means by which the "what" is organized, sold, and grown.
- Process: The steps required to accomplish the purpose
- Pulse: The measuring stick for business health
- Profit: The fuel for growth
Aside... I almost used pecuniary instead of profit but 99%, which is a real statistic I'll have you know, of people don't have a clue what that means. If you have to say (aka: money) whenever you use the word that's a good sign that you shouldn't use the word.
Try and run a business without one of these components and the business will not stand. Imagine a company without purpose, or a business with no way to measure success, or the Ford assembly line without steps to assemble a car. We would all be riding horses again.