Revenue is the lifeblood of any business, regardless of the industry or service. One of my managers in the corporate world used to say, “A healthy top line covers a lot of sins”.

Assuming you are profitable (you’d be surprised how many companies don’t really know!), focusing you and your team on meeting or beating your revenue goals (weekly, monthly, annually) will be the best use of your time, energy and resources. The rest of your goals will follow along naturally.

Growth is an imperative. You have to continually strive to get bigger because there are so many forces, domestic and foreign, that are conspiring to make you smaller! These include business rivals, replacement technologies, new products, government rules and regulations, financial downturns, lawsuits, disloyal insiders…I could go on, but you get the picture. Many of these forces are partially, or totally, outside of your control.

Of my 4 P’s (People, Product, Process and Planning), PEOPLE are the most important single contributor to growing your company. As Scott Pollack puts it, …” companies that place an emphasis on human capital, measuring it, and treating it as a pure asset will stand apart. The workforce is the primary way to drive revenues.”

As one of my early manager/mentors used to say, “Trying to run a business without good numbers is like playing night baseball with the lights turned off.” How exciting and meaningful would it be to watch your favorite football or basketball team without keeping track of the score?

Those of you who have worked for me know that I am a stickler for documenting. Things like goals, agreements, commitments, action items, accountabilities, next steps, due dates ALL need to be in writing.