"Chapter 13STRATEGIES FOR GROWTH AND MANAGING THEIMPLICATIONS OF GROWTHLEARNING OBJECTIVES1To know where to look for (or how to create) possible growth opportunities.2To understand the human resource management challenges and to be prepared to effectively manage thosechallenges.3To understand the pressures of time and how to engage time management techniques.4To recognize that people differ and to understand how these differences impact their intentions and abilities togrow a business.356OPENING PROFILEBRIAN AND JENNIFER MAXWELLolympics.powerbar.comBrian Maxwell, an internationally ranked marathon runner and coach at the University of California, Berkeley,was leading a marathon race in England when, at the 21-mile mark, he began to experience dizziness and tunnelvision, which forced him to quit the race. His consumption of energy drinks on the day of the race had failedand motivated him to find a solution for a better energy source. He teamed up with Jennifer Biddulph, a studentstudying nutrition and food science (now a PhD chemist), and they began the quest for an energy bar that wouldtaste good, be healthy and nutritious, and provide the appropriate ingredients to optimize performance. With1 $50,000 gathered from savings, they were determined to find a solution.During their three years of research, experts indicated to them that it would be impossible to produce a healthyproduct because of the large amount of saturated fats necessary for lubricating machinery in the food barmanufacturing process. However, after many failures, they found the solution. They understood that their effortsrequired developing a food bar manufacturing process that would not require adding fats for lubrication ofmachinery and would produce a product that would meet the desired attributes. The product needed to provide abalance of simple carbohydrates for quick energy, complex carbohydrates for longer lasting energy, and low fatfor easy digestion. Hundreds of recipes were tested with athletes until the most effective and best-tasting product was found. Continued requests among these athletes to have more of those ?power bars? led to the finalbrand name, and in 1986, they officially formed the company, PowerBar Inc.Initially the company was operated from Brian and Jennifer’s basement. The first products, which went on salein 1987, were the malt-nut and chocolate flavors. After their marriage in 1988, they moved to a new facility andbegan hiring employees to meet the growing demand.Their vision of finding a solution to a serious runner’s energy source wasn’t the only factor in forming this newventure. Both Brian and Jennifer were determined to create a work environment where employees would feelimportant and have a strong sense of pride in the company. They wanted a company that did not have all thethings that they357 hated about jobs they had held previously. Thus, they created a work environment whereemployees were called team members, the dress was casual, and the focus was on sports. To Brian and Jennifer,it was important that their employees enjoyed the workplace and developed an important loyalty andcommitment to the company’s mission.In the early part of the 1990s, sales for the new venture increased by 50 to 60 percent. In 1997, sales began toslow and increased by only 23 percent. In 1995, Brian and Jennifer turned down an opportunity to purchaseBalance Bar, a producer of an energy bar that targeted the more casual athlete and those who were looking for anutritious snack. They had believed that their company did not need to add any new products and couldcontinue to grow with the one product. In retrospect, they realized this was a mistake in strategy and that theventure could not survive on the one product, especially when they saw sales begin to stall in 1995. At thattime, there were many new competitors who recognized the opportunities in a larger market by introducingenergy bars for casual exercisers and snackers. So in 1997, Brian and Jennifer began efforts to find newproducts. In 1998, they launched PowerBar Harvest, a crunchy, textured energy bar available in a number offlavors that would target casual athletes and consumers looking for a nutritious snack. In 1999, a new creamybar called Essentials and a new line of sports drinks were launched.Today, PowerBar is still the leader in the serious athlete market, and Harvest has just passed Clif bar to becomethe number three brand in this category. Sales in 1999 reached $135 million. The company also opened a state- of-the-art manufacturing facility in Idaho and two distribution centers in Idaho and North Carolina. It alsoestablished two subsidiaries in Canada and Germany as opportunities for sales growth in international marketsoccurred.Brian still runs 40 to 50 miles per week. Jennifer was recently recognized in the first annual Working WomenEntrepreneurial Excellence Awards competition for winning for Harvest in the Best Innovation category. In2000, PowerBar was purchased by Nestlé USA, which intends to grow and expand it globally. Brian Maxwellwill continue to play an integral role in the company.In this chapter, important management decision areas are reviewed and discussed. Building a solid managementteam and a loyal employee base, recognized by entrepreneurs like Brian and Jennifer Maxwell as being veryimportant during the early years, is discussed in detail, along with financial and marketing control decisions.GROWTH STRATEGIES: WHERE TO LOOK FOR GROWTH OPPORTUNITIESIn Chapter 3, we discussed new entry as an essential act of entrepreneurship. A successful new entry providesthe opportunity for the entrepreneur to grow his or her business. For example, introducing a new product into anexisting market provides the opportunity to 358take market share from competitors; entry into a new marketprovides the opportunity to service a new group of customers; and a new organization has a chance to make,and build upon, its first sales. Although it is difficult to provide direct guidance to entrepreneurs on a step-by- step process for generating a highly attractive opportunity, in this chapter, we provide a model that offerssuggestions on where to look for growth opportunities in which the firm may already have a basis for a sustainable competitive advantage. We then investigate the implications of that growth for an economy, for thefirm, and for the entrepreneur, as well as the possible need to negotiate for resources from external sources tosustain firm growth.We know from Chapter 3 that opportunities for new entry are generated by the knowledge of the entrepreneurand from organizational knowledge. We use this as a basis for deciding on the best place to look foropportunities to grow the business. From a simple perspective, we can assume that the entrepreneur and the firmhave knowledge about the product that they are currently producing and selling (the existing product) and haveknowledge about the group of customers to which they are currently selling that product (the existing market).Different combinations of different levels of these types of knowledge are represented in Figure 13.1 and2 provide a model of different growth strategies. Most of these growth strategies can lead to a competitiveadvantage because they capitalize on some aspect of the entrepreneur’s, and the firm’s, knowledge base. Thesegrowth strategies are (1) penetration strategies, (2) market development strategies, (3) product developmentstrategies, and (4) diversification strategies.penetration strategy A strategy to grow by encouraging existing customers to buy more of the firm’s currentproductsPenetration StrategiesA penetration strategy focuses on the firm’s existing product in its existing market. The entrepreneur attempts topenetrate this product or market further by encouraging existing customers to buy more of the firm’s currentproducts. Marketing can be effective in encouraging more frequent repeat purchases. For example, a pizzacompany engages in an extensive marketing campaign to encourage its existing customer base of universitystudents to eat its pizza three nights a week rather than only twice a week. This growth strategy does not involveanything new for the firm and relies on taking market share from 359competitors and/or expanding the size ofthe existing market. Therefore, this growth strategy attempts to better exploit its original entry.FIGURE 13.1Growth Strategies Based upon Knowledge of Product and/or MarketSource: H. I. Ansoff, Corporate Strategy: An Analytical Approach to Business Policy for Growth andExpansion (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1965). With permission of the Ansoff Family Trust.market development strategy Strategy to grow by selling the firm’s existing products to new groups ofcustomersMarket Development StrategiesGrowth also can occur through market development strategies. Market development strategies involve sellingthe firm’s existing products to new groups of customers. New groups of customers can be categorized in termsof geographics or demographics and/or on the basis of new product use.New Geographical MarketThis simply refers to selling the existing product in new locations. For example, afirm selling its products in Singapore could start selling its products in Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia. Thishas the potential of increasing sales by offering products to customers who have not previously had the chanceto purchase them. This can be particularly useful for firms that sell seasonal products—for firms with markets inthe northern hemisphere, entering markets in the southern hemisphere provides an opportunity to sell theirproducts year round. However, the entrepreneur must be aware of possible regional differences in customer preferences, language, and legal requirements that may necessitate a slight change in the product (orpackaging).New Demographic MarketDemographics are used to characterize (potential) customers based upon theirincome, location, education, age, sex, and so on. For an entrepreneur who is currently selling the firm’s existingproduct to a specific demographic group, the business could grow by offering the same product to a differentdemographic group. For example, a studio currently produces and sells computer games (specializing in gameson baseball and soccer) to males between the ages of 13 and 17. However, there is an opportunity for thiscompany to expand its sales by also targeting males between the ages of 24 and 32, who are universityeducated, have high disposable incomes, and would likely enjoy the escapism of these computer game products.New Product UseAn entrepreneurial firm might find out that people use its product in a way that was notintended or expected. This new knowledge of product use provides insight into how the product may bevaluable to new groups of buyers. For example, when I moved from Australia to Chicago, I bought a baseballbat. I did not use the bat to play baseball; rather, I kept it beside my bed for security against anyone who mightbreak into my apartment. Fortunately, I never had to use it, but I did sleep better knowing it was there.Recognition of this new product use could open up a whole new market for the manufacturers of baseball bats.Another example is four-wheel-drive vehicles. The original producers of this product thought that it would beused primarily for off-road recreational driving but found that the vehicle was also popular among housewivesbecause it was big enough to take the children to school and carry all their bags and sporting equipment.Knowledge of this new use allowed the producers to modify their product slightly to better satisfy customerswho used the product in this way. An advantage from using a market development strategy is that it capitalizeson existing knowledge and expertise in a particular technology and production process.product development strategy A strategy to grow by developing and selling new products to people who arealready purchasing the firm’s existing productsProduct Development StrategiesProduct development strategies for growth involve developing and selling new products to people who arealready purchasing the firm’s existing products. Experience with a particular customer group is a source ofknowledge on the problems customers have with existing technology and ways in which customers can bebetter served. This knowledge is an important resource in coming up with a new product. For example, DisneyCorporation built on its existing customer base of Disney movie viewers and developed merchandising productsspecifically aimed at this audience. A further advantage of using a product development strategy is the chanceto capitalize on existing distribution systems and on the corporate reputation the firm has with these customers.360diversification strategy A strategy to grow by selling a new product to a new marketbackward integration A step back (up) in the value-added chain toward the raw materialsforward integration A step forward (down) on the value-added chain toward the customersDiversification StrategiesDiversification strategies involve selling a new product to a new market. Even though both knowledge basesappear to be new, some diversification strategies are related to the entrepreneur’s (and the firm’s) knowledge. Infact, there are three types of related diversification that are best explained through a discussion of the value- added chain.As illustrated in Figure 13.2, a value-added chain captures the steps it takes to develop raw materials into aproduct and get it into the hands of the customers. Value is added at every stage of the chain. For the value added, each firm makes some profit. If we focus on the manufacturer, opportunities for growth arise frombackward integration, forward integration, and horizontal integration. Backward integration refers to taking astep back (up) on the value-added chain toward the raw materials, which in this case means that themanufacturer also becomes a raw materials wholesaler. In essence, the firm becomes its own supplier. Forwardintegration is taking a step forward (down) on the value-added chain toward the customers, which in this casemeans that the firm also becomes a finished goods wholesaler. In essence, the firm becomes its own buyer.FIGURE 13.2Example of a Value-Added Chain and Types of Related Diversification361AS SEEN IN BUSINESS NEWSTO GROW OR NOT TO GROW IS THE QUESTIONAdina Grigore is the founder of S.W. Basics, a company that makes all natural and sustainable products for skincare. In an article in Entrepreneur magazine, she contemplates what to do next with her company, includingconsiderations about growth.The issue arises from being in a good place—the company is profitable. While profitability reduces someentrepreneurial issues, it raises some stressful considerations. She needs to decide what is next for the company.Adina has had a number of conversations with investment teams who are enthusiastic about the company andwant to invest. This builds on two previous successful attempts to raise capital through assigning equity to theinvestors. But this time the business is generating cash—they have cash in the bank. She faces a dilemma— raise additional capital to grow rapidly or continue to grow more slowly using cash generated by the business.Growing rapidly would be nice but it would require offering investors equity that further dilutes Adina’sownership share and, thus, reduces her control over the business. Growing more slowly means that she keepsmore of the business and maintains control but is perhaps missing out on important opportunities to grow thebusiness.Adina and her cofounder husband are constantly debating this issue.ADVICE TO AN ENTREPRENEUR1. What advice would you give Adina?2. Should she raise equity capital and rapidly grow the business or should she grow more slowly andmaintain ownership and control?3. Would all people make the same decision? If not, then what explains why some choose to grow rapidlyand others more slowly under these conditions?4. Are there other options for funding growth that do not dilute equity and, therefore, would help hermaintain control?Source: ?The Crossroads of Profitability: What Now?? by Adina Grigore. Entrepreneur magazine. April 9th,2015. http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/244860.Backward or forward integration provides an entrepreneur with a potentially attractive opportunity to grow hisor her business. First, these growth opportunities are related to the firm’s existing knowledge base, and the entrepreneur could therefore have some advantage over others with no such experience or knowledge. Second,being one’s own supplier and/or buyer provides synergistic opportunities to conduct these transactions moreefficiently than they are conducted with independent firms fulfilling these roles. Third, operating as a supplierand/or a buyer of the original business provides learning opportunities that could lead to new processes and/ornew product improvements that would not have been available if this integration had not taken place.horizontal integration Occurs at the same level of the value-added chain but simply involves a different, butcomplementary, value-added chainA third type of related diversification is horizontal integration. The growth opportunity occurs at the same levelof the value-added chain but simply involves a different, but complementary, value-added chain. For example, afirm that manufactures washing machines may go into the manufacture of detergent. These products arecomplementary in that they need each other to work. Again the relatedness of the new product to the firm’sexisting product means that the firm will likely have some competencies in this new product and may providelearning opportunities. Further, horizontal integration provides the opportunity to increase sales of the existingproduct. For example, the existing product and the new product may be bundled and sold together, which mayprovide increased value to customers and increase sales. Examples of bundled products include computerhardware and software, televisions and video recorders, and telephones and answering machines.What about introducing a new product into a new market that is not related to the existing business (i.e., notforward, backward, or horizontal integration)? The short answer is, ?Don’t362 do it.? If it is not related to thecurrent business, then what possible advantage can this firm have over competitors? Ego and the mistakenbelief in the benefits of a firm’s diversifying its risk lead some entrepreneurs to pursue unrelated diversificationto their own peril.Example of Growth StrategiesTo illustrate the use of the preceding model to explore possibilities for firm growth, we consider the early daysof the Head Ski Company, which, at that time, only produced and sold high-tech skis in the U.S. market. Apenetration strategy for Head could be achieved through an increase in its marketing budget focused onencouraging existing customers to ?upgrade? their skis more often. This could involve some sort ofperformance imperative that encourages customers to desire the most up-to-date skis with the latesttechnological features.A market development strategy could involve Head’s selling its skis in Europe, Argentina, and New Zealand.The advantage of moving into Argentina and New Zealand is that these markets are in the Southern Hemisphereand, therefore, sales are counterseasonal to those in the United States (and other Northern Hemisphere markets).Head could also start selling its skis to the mass market—those less affluent skiers who want a good- performance ski at a ?reasonable? price.To pursue a product development strategy, Head could develop and sell new products, such as hats, gloves,boots, and other ski accessories, to people who buy its skis. Head could also manufacture tennis racquets ormountain bikes—equipment used by its existing customer group when not skiing. These new products wouldbuild on its customer reputation for high-tech, high-quality products and could capitalize on existingdistribution systems. For example, ski shops could sell Head tennis racquets and mountain bikes during thesummer months, which would also smooth out seasonal variability in sales.Diversification strategies also offer opportunities for growth. For example, backward integration could involvethe design and manufacture of equipment used to make skis, forward integration could involve control of achain of retail ski shops, and horizontal integration could involve ownership of ski mountains (lifts, lodges,etc.). As this example demonstrates, the model offers a tool for entrepreneurs, to force them to think and look indifferent directions for growth opportunities where the firm may already have a basis for a sustainablecompetitive advantage. The pursuit and achievement of growth have an impact on the economy, the firm, andthe entrepreneur.IMPLICATIONS OF GROWTH FOR THE FIRMBecause growth makes a firm bigger, the firm begins to benefit from the advantages of size. For example,higher volume increases production efficiency, makes the firm more attractive to suppliers, and thereforeincreases its bargaining power. Size also enhances the legitimacy of the firm, because firms that are larger areoften perceived by customers, financiers, and other stakeholders as being more stable and prestigious.Therefore, the growing of a business can provide the entrepreneur more power to influence firm performance.But as the firm grows, it changes. These changes introduce a number of managerial challenges. Thesechallenges arise from the following pressures.Pressures on Human ResourcesGrowth is also fueled by the work of employees. If employees are spread too thin by the pursuit of growth, thenthe firm will face problems of employee morale, employee burnout,363 and an increase in employee turnover.These employee issues could also have a negative impact on the firm’s corporate culture. For example, aninflux of a large number of new employees (necessitated by an increase in the number of tasks and to replacethose that leave) will likely dilute the corporate culture, which is a concern, especially if the firm relies on itscorporate culture as a source of competitive advantage.Pressures on the Management of EmployeesMany entrepreneurs find that as the venture grows, they need to change their management style, that is, changethe way they deal with employees. Management decision making that is the exclusive domain of theentrepreneur can be dangerous to the success of a growing venture. This is sometimes difficult for theentrepreneur to realize since he or she has been so involved in all important decisions since the business wascreated. However, to survive, the entrepreneur will need to consider some managerial changes.Pressures on the Entrepreneur’s TimeOne of the biggest problems in growing a firm is encapsulated in the phrase ?If I only had more time.? Whilethis is a common problem for all managers, it is particularly applicable to entrepreneurs who are growing theirbusinesses. Time is the entrepreneur’s most precious yet limited resource. It is a unique quantity: Theentrepreneur cannot store it, rent it, hire it, or buy it. It is also totally perishable and irreplaceable. No matterwhat an entrepreneur does, today’s ration is 24 hours, and yesterday’s time is already history. Growth isdemanding of the entrepreneur’s time, but as the entrepreneur allocates time to growth, it must be diverted fromother activities, and this can cause problems.There are actions the entrepreneur can take to better manage these issues and more effectively grow his or herbusiness. We will now discuss some of these actions.Pressures on Existing Financial ResourcesGrowth has a large appetite for cash. Investing in growth means that the firm’s resources can become stretchedquite thin. With financial resources highly stretched, the firm is more vulnerable to unexpected expenses thatcould push the firm over the edge and into bankruptcy. Resource slack (resources in reserve) is required toensure against most environmental shocks and to foster further innovation. OVERCOMING PRESSURES ON EXISTING HUMAN RESOURCESGenerally, the new venture does not have the luxury of a human resource department that can interview, hire,and evaluate employees. Most of these decisions will be the responsibility of the entrepreneur and perhaps oneor two other key employees. The process of human resource management should not be any different from whatwas previously discussed in Chapter 9, where we outline some of the important procedures for preparing jobdescriptions and specifications for new employees.Some entrepreneurs are using professional employer organizations (PEOs). One such company is TriNetEmployer Group Inc., which came to the rescue of Robert Teal, cofounder of a Silicon Valley start-up, QuintaCorporation. Robert had found it time364 consuming and costly to hire and retain employees. His bankersuggested he consider TriNet. After an assessment of TriNet’s services, he hired the firm to assume most of thehuman resource tasks of the new venture. This involved such things as recruiting, hiring, setting up benefitprograms, payroll, and even firing decisions. This has given Robert more time to devote to other aspects of his3 growing venture.ETHICSLESSONS FROM ENRONWhat can entrepreneurs learn from the Enron scandal?Enron was a multibillion dollar company that failed spectacularly because of the unethical conduct of the topmanager and a host of others. It might be easy to conclude that ethical breaches only occur in large bureaucraticcompanies, but such a conclusion would be wrong. Ethical breaches can also occur in new and smallcompanies. Of course, the magnitude of the outcomes of these breaches do not rise to the scale (or publicattention) of Enron, but they are destructive nonetheless. With the ethical breaches of Enron in mind, it isimportant for entrepreneurs to ensure that their business plans represent integrity, legality, and ethics and thenensure that their everyday actions are consistent with the ethos established in the business plan. That is, whileelements of the business plan may change over time as the environment changes, some things are (hopefully)not changeable, such as an ethical approach to business. In assessing their everyday actions, entrepreneurs canask themselves: ?Have the pressures and requirements of the entrepreneurial task led me to step over any?ethical? lines?? ?How will deviations from the original ethical ethos of the business come back to ?bite us?— adversely impact the business and the people we care about including stakeholders??In guiding everyday actions, it might be useful for the entrepreneur to reflect on why he or she started thebusiness in the first place. It was likely not about bending the rules, ?living large,? or cheating others to getahead. Most entrepreneurs start their businesses to create something that they will be proud of; something thatreflects a positive identity. By reflecting on these founding ideals, entrepreneurs can stop the slippery slope ofcutting ethical corners.Some of the common ethical breaches of entrepreneurs are:? Using business funds for personal use, which cheats on taxes and ?short changes? stakeholders.? Accepting cash payments but keeping them off the book.? Cheating customers by not delivering on promises in terms of quality, delivery, warranty, and so on.? Using deceptive advertising and other promotional material.? Excessively delaying payment to suppliers.Although we might think about these breaches as minor in comparison to the ethical breaches of Enron, such aconclusion is drawing the wrong lesson. If an individual acts unethically in a small business, he or she is also likely to do so in a big business. When the unethical behavior is discovered and revealed to others, theentrepreneur suffers a large penalty, including stigmatization. Entrepreneurs need to ask themselves ?What isthe penalty if I get caught?? (Recognize that most people are overconfident in believing that they will not getcaught but often do get caught.) But more importantly, the entrepreneur needs to ask him- or herself ?Is thisreally who I am?? As entrepreneurs, we want to achieve success but it is only meaningful if we do it in anhonest way.Source: ?Even the Smallest Business Can Learn What Not to Do from This Giant Company,? by Rod Walshand Dan Carrison, February 2002, Entrepreneur magazine: www.entrepreneur.com.In growing the workforce, entrepreneurs face the decision of what proportion of the workforce should bepermanent and what proportion should be part time, and this decision involves a number of trade-offs. On theone hand, a greater percentage of part-time workers represents a lower fixed cost, which provides the firmgreater flexibility in dealing with changes in the external environment. On the other hand, personnel instability4 is more likely with part-time workers because turnover is typically higher and part-time workers are less365committed to the firm because they have less of a personal stake in its performance. Therefore, building afunctional organizational culture is more difficult when the workforce has a greater proportion of part-timeworkers.Regardless of the composition of the firm’s workforce, mistakes will be made in the selection and hiring ofsome people. This leads to one of the most difficult decisions for an entrepreneur to make—the firing ofincompetent employees. Having a fair employee evaluation process is essential in justifying the firing of anemployee. Employees should be given feedback on a regular basis, and any problems should be identified witha proposed solution agreeable to the employee and the entrepreneur. In this manner, continued problems withthe employee that necessitate a firing decision will be well documented.An integral part of the firm’s human resource strategy for effectively growing the business must take intoconsideration how to maintain the corporate culture despite the influx of new employees. New employees canbe inculcated through early training sessions that perpetuate the stories and rituals that form the basis of theculture. But the majority of this responsibility falls on the shoulders of the entrepreneur. The entrepreneur mustbe the walking, talking embodiment of the culture, although in cases of rapid growth the work of theentrepreneur can be complemented by the work of a cultural ambassador. For example, as IKEA expandedinternationally, Ingvar Kamprad took a number of steps to ensure that the corporate culture would still have animpact in foreign stores. For example, he documented the ?IKEA way? and used cultural ambassadors andtraining sessions to inculcate new employees of new stores in foreign locations.OVERCOMING PRESSURES ON THE MANAGEMENT OF EMPLOYEESparticipative style of management The manager involves others in the decision-making processAs the venture grows, it changes. Managing change is often a complex task, one that is better undertaken with aparticipative style of management. A participative style of management is one in which the entrepreneurinvolves others in the decision-making process. There are a number of advantages to using a participativemanagement style when a firm is growing. First, the complexity of growing a business and managing changeincreases the information-processing demands on the entrepreneur. Involving others in the decision-makingprocess is a way of reducing these demands. Second, highly qualified managers and employees are an importantresource for coming up with new ways to tackle current problems. Third, if employees are involved in thedecision-making process, they are more prepared and motivated to implement the decided course of action.Finally, in most cultures, employees enjoy the added responsibility of making decisions and taking initiative. Insuch a case, a participative management style will enhance job satisfaction. The following captures some of the activities the entrepreneur can do to institute a more participative style of management and successfully growthe business.Establish a Team SpiritA team spirit involves the belief by everyone in the organization that they are ?in thisthing together? and by working together great things can be achieved. Small but important actions by theentrepreneur can create this team spirit. For example, the entrepreneur should establish a ?we? spirit—not a?me? spirit—in meetings and memoranda to employees as well as to other stakeholders.Communicate with EmployeesOpen and frequent communication with employees builds trust and diminishesfear. Often the fear of change associated with firm growth is worse than the reality of change, andcommunication will alleviate some of that anxiety. 366Open and frequent communication is a two-way street.The entrepreneur must listen to what is on the minds of his or her employees. The entrepreneur should solicitsuggestions on how a department or the firm as a whole can more effectively manage growth and improve itsperformance.Provide FeedbackThe entrepreneur should frequently provide feedback to employees. Feedback needs to beconstructive such that it enables the employee to improve the quality of a particular task but does not attack theperson and create a fear of failure. The entrepreneur should also seek feedback from others. For this feedback tobe valuable, it must be honest, which requires a culture that values open and honest communication. Anentrepreneur confident in his or her own abilities, and with a desire to effectively grow the business, should beopen to, and encourage, this type of feedback.Delegate Some Responsibility to OthersWith an increasing number of tasks for the entrepreneur, he or shecannot be available to make every management decision. Key employees must be given the flexibility to takethe initiative and make decisions without the fear of failure. This requires the entrepreneur to create a culturethat values and rewards employees for taking initiative and sees failure as a positive attempt rather than anegative outcome.Provide Continuous Training for EmployeesBy training employees, the entrepreneur increases employees’ability and capacity to improve their own performance at a particular task and, as a result, improves the chanceof successfully growing the firm. Training should reflect the new management style by involving employees indeciding upon training session topics.time management The process of improving an individual’s productivity through more efficient use of timeOVERCOMING PRESSURES ON ENTREPRENEURS’ TIMEEntrepreneurs can always make better use of their time, and the more they strive to do so, the more it will enrichtheir venture as well as their personal lives. How does one manage time more effectively? Time management isthe process of improving an individual’s productivity through more efficient use of time. The entrepreneur reapsnumerous benefits from effectively managing his or her time, some of which follow.Increased ProductivityTime management helps the entrepreneur determine the tasks of greatest importance andfocuses his or her attention on successfully completing those tasks. This means that there will always besufficient time to accomplish the most important things.Increased Job SatisfactionIncreased productivity means that more of the important tasks are successfullycompleted, which in turn enhances the entrepreneur’s job satisfaction. The entrepreneur is less likely to feel?swamped? and overwhelmed by the increasing number of tasks generated from firm growth. Getting moreimportant things done and being more successful in growing and developing the venture will give theentrepreneur more job satisfaction. "