One of the advantages of size is the availability of resources. More resources, (especially people) give the larger operator some advantages. More people can also mean more management, process, structure, and organization. Some larger operators can become large without having these processes, structures, and organizations in place. Money can buy size more easily than it can buy competence. If an objective was made to treat the development of competence equally with the development of size, we have a real threat. Many companies lag behind in the development of systems and procedures to accompany their increase in size and during their expansion; you have an opportunity to win.
While larger organizations have the advantage of size, they may lose the advantage of direct involvement by the owner. In my studies of organizational development, I have concluded that when an organization develops multiple layers of management between the owner and the sales organization, communications impact at the top management level is significantly reduced. Owners cannot effectively communicate their vision of the company or their commitment to quality when there are multiple levels of management involved. The message gets modified at each level. When the owners are directly involved in the day-to-day communications with clientele, the message is clearly presented to the clients.
For example, we might tell a prospect:
"Well, Tom, one thing that I really like about being on the firing line is that I can stay in touch with my clients. I can't imagine trying to live up to promises through a number of levels of management. I believe it takes time to manage a company like ours, and I do not want to wonder daily whether or not we are meeting your expectations. Big companies may have more resources, but I have more direct control to assure that you are being taken care of in a professional manner. I like the idea that you can call me or we can meet for lunch and talk about how we can improve. Sometimes I think I would like to have more people, but then I would probably spend a great deal more time on management and people development, than on delivering direct benefit and value to you."
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Sonny Moyers
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