Growing up on the land taught me about growing businesses and sowing their success. Whilst I am no longer around growing crops, lessons from my farm upbringing, I use to fix cashflow challenged firms and improve their business performance to make them more profitable.
What is my industry expertise?
Today, I specialises in ‘making good businesses better.’ I identify what needs to change and show them what to do differently. Just as farmers don’t plant without forecasting, businesses won’t grow without an analysis of its people, processes and technology. A successful business transformation leads to improved cashflow but not enough companies get it right.
Organisations that recognise the need for change, get the best results. Over the last five years, I been instrumental in not only helping global events company survive the pandemic but meeting the requirements to qualify for a public listing on the New York Stock Exchange.
The ability to problem solve and respond to change is essential to any firm if it is to survive and shine in a crisis. Cashflow is always king and queen and essential to the success or failure of a firm. When analysing the performance of a company, I liken myself to a helicopter, hovering to observe the movements of all areas of the firm; staff, operations and culture.
A helicopter view allows me to look for the roadblocks and by doing this I can help firms understand the cracks, where they’re at and where they want to go. It’s not just processes and technology, but people and organisational culture that often need to change.
How can business leaders achieve business goals?
I have also drawn business lessons out of my personal circumstances, having overcome breast cancer and navigated the break-down of my marriage. It’s a cliché, but it’s true that there are lessons to be learned in everything in life. I used those key moments in my life to strengthen my resolve to make a difference in business. Here are these 5 pieces of advice:
- Fight for what you believe in – Do you research and back yourself with financial figures and well-researched analysis. The best advice comes from informed decisions
- Map out a path forward to achieve your outcome – Get back to basics and break the overwhelming list of things to do down to bite sized chunks. Most owners find it difficult to think about how they can improve because they’re too busy with the day-to-day stuff.
- Look at the core of the business – Work out what needs to change to achieve operational improvements. If the company is stagnating or there’s a cashflow problem, find out why.
- Positive attitude – Just as it took courage and positive thoughts to overcome breast cancer, staying positive, even when setbacks arise, is key to moving forward. Understand what you can control in the business. Don’t let the situation control you.
- Self-care – Energy is contagious so surround yourself with ‘can do’ people. When making tough decisions, it’s important to surround yourself with positive people. During my cancer treatment, I deliberately closed the circle around me to help maintain a positive focus.
There is no right or wrong way through a crisis but having strategies in place meant I didn’t have to walk away from consulting and have to re-start from scratch once I’d recovered.
Sandra Morrell helps transform the ways in which organisations operate. She on the Board of Directors at Genius Group Ltd – a global edtech and education company. She is the former Chief Operating Officer of Entrepreneur Resorts Ltd and former CEO of the Entrepreneurs Institute.
