Russell Bell: Growth phases make long-term plan vital in businesses and communities

The congestion on the Dublin St Bridge has been making national news. Photo / Bevan Conley

OPINION

It was interesting to see our fair city featured on one of the television networks' human interest shows last week.

The story, regarding congestion at the Dublin St Bridge, involved reporting on current travel times while the situation was compared to that experienced by Aucklanders.

Happily, the item did not slam the town, but it was interesting that it made national news outlets including radio.

It is good to see that Whanganui appears to have moved on from being labelled a "zombie town" (or similar) by up-and-coming economists trying to make a name for themselves – however, you could still sense that some of the humour was directed "at" us in the story.

The more important story in relation to the bridge itself is its history and the vital link it has played for many years rather than the current challenges with accessing and exiting it. However, having experienced it myself, I do understand people's frustration. And, as was pointed out by the astute TVNZ presenter, there are two bridges as options to the south, but he failed to mention the sliding cliff face near Georgetti Rd, which makes alternate routes impractical at this time.

In my view, it would be fair to say usage is higher on all three bridges, which is a story of the consequences of "growth".

If the great '80s movie Wall Street was translated to a commentary on local, national and international economic policy, the key line "Greed is good" would be used interchangeably with "Growth is good". The unwritten subtext, however, would also be "not managing growth properly comes with consequences".

So, just as it is pleasing to hear the Dublin St Bridge might receive tangible attention in the near future (through realistic and thoughtful planning for the bridge's future), so too it is important for businesses in growth phases to plan for the consequences - both good and challenging - of growth.

Most businesses grow organically until they reach a point where structures and resources become strained. So, a long-term view is crucial. The best approach when your business is growing is to have a plan that factors in environmental aspects such as a growing customer base, innovation and value creation, along with planning for your internal structures and processes.

The key is to not let growth get away on you – what some strategists call "no surprises growth planning". But, as well as looking ahead, it is equally important to be regularly testing to see if there is strain within the business, particularly for its structures and processes.

Sometimes, particularly when the cost of making substantial change to processes and structure outweighs the benefits, "work-arounds" could be more effective in managing the impacts of growth. Indeed, one of the most effective responses to growth is to upskill staff and/or bring in expertise to assist through a growth period.

The most important part of managing growth is not to ignore it or the fact it may bring challenges with it.

It is often argued that "growth problems are good problems to have" and there is an element of truth to that. However, if not managed properly and at the right time, growth can turn from a positive into a negative.

You only need to look at Auckland's transport challenges to see a case study of what happens when growth occurs and investment in appropriate structures and processes don't follow it. And as a former Aucklander and a regular visitor to the City of Sails, I'm thankful we have a long way to go before our transport congestion reaches those levels.