The management of small and medium-sized enterprises may face difficulties in these three aspects
Out of 2734 hidden champion companies worldwide, less than 2.5% are Chinese enterprises.
Author: Summer
Source: World Manager (ID: CEC_GLOBALSource)
Small and medium-sized enterprises are the main force in the current national economy and social development. The government has introduced various policies to promote the development of small and medium-sized enterprises, in order to help them overcome financing difficulties, reduce tax burdens, and improve the innovation and entrepreneurship environment. In the current economic environment, the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises will encounter multiple challenges, such as chaotic management, talent shortage, and imperfect corporate systems. These problems objectively exist for many small and medium-sized enterprises.
However, many small and medium-sized enterprises are still constantly breaking through themselves and gradually growing into medium and even large enterprises. There are also some small and medium-sized enterprises that are not in a hurry to expand, but focus on doing business in one industry. Although their operating income is not large, the company's profitability is good and continues to grow. Some companies even deeply cultivate themselves and become "hidden champions" in a certain field.
According to data provided by the German Federal Office for Foreign Trade and Investment, 99.5% of businesses in Germany are small and medium-sized enterprises, and there are numerous "hidden champions" distributed throughout the country. There are 16 hidden champion companies per 1 million people, which is the highest proportion in the world.
According to previous analysis by Hermann Simon, the father of hidden champions, in a typical hidden champion enterprise, there first exists a stable management structure:A strong and constantly controllable leader, and a team of employees who can unleash creativity, influence, and gain sufficient presence.
Small and medium-sized enterprises will play a more important role in the future, and business leaders should pay attention to management issues while policies are favorable. Because small businesses, like large enterprises, may seem to lack resources or funds to try and make mistakes, but the underlying problem lies in how to manage it.
The following three management challenges related to small and medium-sized enterprises are all based on real feedback from users of the World Manager website.
01
Internal role mismatch of small and medium-sized entrepreneurs
My boss is a very typical 'grassroots manager', rather than a true leader who formulates strategies and leads teams. For example, he will pay attention to any details in everyone's work, and if any detail is flawed, he will point it out to you and thoroughly understand the reasons for the mistake, and then give you a comprehensive ideological and work education. Originally, a small mistake could be solved in a few words, but my boss would spare an hour to analyze and pay attention to similar work in the future. Fine management is indeed important in the growth process of a company, but it also depends on what details are involved
Indeed, if a boss spends all their time on details, it will be difficult to have a long-term perspective, as the human brain has limited processing power, making it difficult to focus time on company strategy, customer relationships, and market observations.
02
The talent mechanism of small and medium-sized enterprises is not mature enough
For small and medium-sized enterprises, especially family businesses, talent is very scarce. The development strategy of an enterprise cannot be achieved solely by the boss. He also needs real and useful information from people around him. At this critical stage, some people will provide false information for flattery, some people will provide useless information to show their positive attitude, and some people will allow the boss's wrong thinking to continue in order to not take responsibility
Undoubtedly, the talent mechanism is also a major challenge for small and medium-sized enterprises, as they may not be as attractive to job seekers as large companies in terms of welfare benefits, promotion mechanisms, employee training, and other aspects.
03
The lagging response of small and medium-sized entrepreneurs to market changes and their cognitive bias towards development direction
In the stage of enterprise development, the boss's own cognition completely influences the growth of the enterprise. Perhaps the enterprise can still succeed through diligence, hard work, and luck in the early stage. Later, when the enterprise is in a stable period, the boss's cognition and knowledge structure determine the growth of the enterprise. Of course, if someone can change the boss's knowledge structure, it will also promote the growth of the enterprise
We can go as far as our thoughts go, and the strategic vision of our leaders determines the direction of the company's development. The development direction of a company can be its winning weapon, and without reasonable planning, it may also be the beginning of the company's decline. If the development direction of the industry cannot be seen continuously, it often leads to the loss of opportunities and allows the enterprise to be suppressed by competitors.
按照传统的企业周期生命理论，企业发展要经历创业期、成长期、成熟期和衰退期。很多小企业直接倒在创业期，因为很多创业者并没搞清楚什么是企业，习惯于用惯性思维去管理企业，其次是不知道企业发展四个阶段中管理要素有所不同。
对于上述中的三个管理难题，以下三个建议供参考。
01
建议一：拒绝做“事无巨细”的老板
世界经理人博主、中国精细化管理研究所所长汪中求在其著作《细节决定管理》中提到，注重细节不是把所有鸡毛蒜皮的小事都抓在自己的手里，细节就像一个“颗粒”，对于不同行业、不同专业、不同岗位的人，“颗粒”大小的标准是不一样的，更不是无限制地细下去。
中小企业规模有限，资源有限，这些客观上的局限了企业在人才、制度方面的展开，企业需要的人才，特别是高级人才不一定就会如愿得到。因此，中小企业应根据自己的能力制定合适的发展策略，企业初创阶段，老板不可能只抓大事，不做具体事，当企业逐步发展壮大，则老板则应逐步脱身于具体事务，企业由小到大无不经此过程。
02
建议二：中小企业也可以有诱人的薪资福利
对于中小企业，应完善人才机制。首先制定并严格执行裁员制度，让寄生虫无处容身；其二，制定并严格执行晋升制度，让员工事前预知自己的行为能获得怎样的回报，从而激励自己努力工作，此谓望梅止渴；其三，尽量做到岗位定人，而不是人定岗位，尤其是家族企业要做到亲人与其他员工的同等待遇。
03
建议三：把握行业动态及制定长远规划
很多中小企业家，很有一种“小富即安”的思想。于是也就没有危机意识，没有大思想、长远的规划。于是想的、做的都是眼前的、短视的。这样子，其产品和服务及其他避免不了落伍、没创新、跟不上潮流，别说引领趋势，连把握趋势紧跟趋势都难。逆水行舟不进则退，当新一轮浪潮到来或行业洗牌时，很容易沦为淘汰的命运。
过去二十多年，赫尔曼·西蒙收集了全世界2734家隐形冠军公司的数据，德国拥有1307家隐形冠军，是数量最多的国家，美国是366家，日本是220家，中国68家（约2.5%）。为什么会有这么大的差距？因为“隐形冠军”，他们大都是专注于一个领域，并且习惯一开始就把目光投向全球市场，对企业发展定位不一样，而中国很多中小企业很容易短视而陷入盲目扩张。
如果企业按照最大化利润来运行，那么长势会如灌木丛，一眼望过去是一大片，然而并不能长成参天大树。现在市场竞争多讲究专业化，只有在某一个行业内不断进步才能生存下来。正如浙江大学管理学院博士鲁柏祥所说，“做企业就是做事业，不是比谁做得大，而是比谁做得久。纵观企业史，我们只能观察到发展慢却活得久的企业，而看不到发展非常迅速同时又活得久的多元化企业。”
当然，中小企业的管理难题包括但并不仅限于上述三种情况，比如还存在亲近客户、保持专注、勇于创新方面的问题。
信息来源：中外管理杂志
Editor He Yang of this website/Organizing
