Dansk
It's not always about whether your business is big or small. What matters is that you know what you want, can and do.
For many owner-managed businesses, the question of size is often a big issue.
In many small businesses, owners typically dream that the company can grow bigger.
Conversely, many owner-managers of large companies dream of the days when the company was smaller and more manageable.
The issue of size has also spread to academic circles. In a commentary in Børsen on February 24, 2023, professor at Aarhus University, Christian Bjørnskov, for example, concluded:
"The bottom line is that size has hardly ever been an advantage and is increasingly becoming a disadvantage and a sign of failing productivity."
Big muscles can be a prerequisite for progress. But if you don't know how to use your muscles, they quickly become dead weight.
As a former leader in large companies and current owner of my own strategy tech company, I dare to conclude that the discussion about size - also in this context - quickly becomes quite complicated. There is not necessarily one "sweet spot".
I've seen large companies spend tons of resources on endless internal discussions about priorities, responsibilities, knowledge sharing and process optimization. And I've seen how large management teams and CEOs have been completely undressed when asked the question: Why do we do what we do and how does it fit into the company strategy? In such cases, size itself can be an obstacle.
Conversely, I have also seen owner-managers of small businesses run themselves into the ground as the overdraft just went up and up. Where everything from contracts to liquidity has sailed without the owner-manager asking themselves the question: What is my goal and purpose? In such cases, size can also be an issue.
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Christian Bjørnskov is right that information development in large companies is more difficult than in small ones. On the other hand, large companies also have the muscle to handle complexity if they are skilled enough.
The owner-manager of a small business doesn't have that muscle - and that brings a different kind of complexity. Just ask your local bricklayer if it's easy to handle VAT accounts, leases, IT, purchasing, marketing, tendering, social media, recruitment and collective agreement rules on your own - all while working full-time overtime.
The point is that size in itself is not necessarily the key to success - or the opposite, for that matter. What matters is whether you, as a senior leader, are clear about what you want, can and do.
Big muscles can be a prerequisite for progress. But if you don't know how to use your muscles, they quickly become dead weight.
Small can be good if you need to switch tracks in a morning and are highly specialized. But if a lack of volume prevents you from delivering optimally, a larger organization may be necessary.
Therefore, size is not an end in itself, but a means to achieve your goals. And if you don't know what your goals are, size won't help!
This column was published on Jyllands-Posten Finans and in Jyllands-Posten, Erhverv on March 29, 2023.
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