Innovation has become a polluted word with a lot of different meanings. It a one of the buzz words in current management speak, government policy, etc.

Innovation is the systematic development of new opportunities. And is not only the 3Ms, HPs and IBMs of this world that need to innovate. It is becoming essential for business success.  Product life cycles are getting shorter, the speed of change is ever increasing.

As your company develops, you will need different sets of skills. The skills you used several years ago to propel your company through the start-up and early growth phases are not the same as the skills you now need for growth and maturity

Ask yourself the question; if you would apply for the job of CEO if your own company would you get it? What happens if the answer in “NO”?

You would be mad not to use the advice, insights, experience, knowledge and contacts of experience directors and advisors. Advisory boards are like friends you go for advice, ideas and feedback, they view your business from far, far away.

The average reading time for a business plan is 30 seconds and is getting shorter. If your plan or presentation does not capture the imagination in that time frame, you are wasting your time. In the same goes for the executive summary.

You have been through the start-up stage and it is now time to bring your company to the next level, including increasing your turn over to a million and more (the first million is the hardest). Here are some tips to consider:

You need to be able to translate your plans and targets into the resource implications for your business. Use this template and translate your planned actions into time, money and people.

If you are in a growth phase, please be aware of some of the traps:

You need to establish a business model that will support your plans for growth. If your business strategy changes, you may need to modify your business model to align with it.

Take stock of your business achievements, your resources and current market position, before you raise decide on your future direction. Do this (very) regularly.

The first stage in developing growth plans for your business is to determine where you want to go in a personal context – in other words, why you want to grow your business. You need to decide this in a personal context, before you can approach the business context – otherwise, the two may be out of sync, and lead to disaster.

Before you decide to expand you need to examine several aspects of the company, such as skills set, your operations, the financial situation, the rationale for the expansion and the exit. Use this below to prompt your thinking:

You need to define where you want to be, preferably in the form of targets and milestones- your future "destination". Try this exercise. Don't be concerned if you cannot complete the exercise in the level of detail suggested. The purpose is to give you a sense of direction - you can fill in the gaps in late.