Business school supports Fastest 50 of the future
MUCH of our work at Durham Business School and St Chad's College concerns enterprise and business development - how businesses get started, how they grow and develop in response to changing market conditions and what support they need to realise their entrepreneurial vision.
In the midst of the current recession, these processes of business formation and development remain crucial. As this list amply demonstrates, companies can expand rapidly – even in a downturn – if they get the basics right, have a winning product and deliver good customer service.
So, looking at the ‘winners’ – the fastest-growing companies in the region – gives us a chance to see what the best and brightest in the region have managed to achieve in troubled times, and hold them up as inspirational examples for others.
The 2009 Fastest 50 list is once again a mixture of the old and the new. It’s a reiteration of the North East’s traditional strengths in manufacturing and an illustration of how the adaptation of these strengths to the challenges of globalisation can stand companies in good stead to weather a period of slow or negative economic growth.
This year’s fastest grower, Soil Machine Dynamics Ltd, is an excellent example of this adaptation. Having begun in the early 1970s laying subsea pipelines, they have incorporated the latest engineering advances in their work and forged stable, long-term relationships with their clients enabling them to survive and grow in the most adverse climate.
The key to success of many of the Fastest 50 businesses is finding their own niche and exploiting it through product design, marketing, adding extra value to products and delivering what the customer wants – be it a simple product that does its job well or a service delivered at the right time, in the right place at the right price.
These fundamentals are crucial to growth, no matter what the state of the broader economy, and struggling companies need to take these lessons on board.
For example, they could tap into the knowledge economy, raise quality rather than slashing prices and concentrate on ‘working smarter’ rather than ‘working harder’ in order to grow.
Durham Business School has long been associated with supporting fast-growing companies in the North East.
Managers in these companies are constantly facing new challenges, in areas such as staff recruitment, company culture and internal processes.
A key element is the development of staff by way of management and business training. Staff must be aware of how they fit into the strategy and how they are contributing to the strategic vision.
Durham Business School supports managers at all levels, from the shop floor through to the boardroom, with its comprehensive range of programmes.
The business school delivers accredited qualifications not only from Durham University but also from the Chartered Management Institute, with the option to pursue Chartered Manager status.
Bespoke programmes are also developed through the Management Development Centre to cover the specific circumstances of the organisation.
For further information on management development, please contact Durham Business School on (0191) 334-5548, email management. development@dur.ac.uk or go online to www.dur.ac.uk/dbs/mdc.
By Paul Braidford, St Chad’s College and Professor Ian Stone, Durham Business School
