Reacquaint yourself – and any staff – with your 'mission' regularly, but also look for signals that your past roadmap is taking you slightly off course.
These are, of course, just a few of the critical precepts I have picked up over the years. It would be great to hear from entrepreneurial readers what their 'secrets of success' are, and perhaps what the big pitfalls are to avoid.
This should also include succession planning. It does not matter how long until retirement; it is vital to prepare now and shape your business accordingly. Internal management buyout, external sale, merger or acquisition, IPO? Your strategy must align with your succession preference.
Independent consultant Brian Spence is founding director of international M&A specialist HSP Consulting.
