Capacity defines all things. Limitations are often a question of capacity and not necessarily the systemic factors of life. Efforts would be fruitless and passion misdirected without the right capacity. Capacity is simply the foundation. To want more you must have room for more. Entrepreneurs need to grow their capacity base; strengthening their fort to withstand market pressure, competitive intimidation, learning how to be strategic and not just executing strategies and so much more, in their pursuit of value innovation in the fields of business.
Every entrepreneur pursues success in business and shows that in their commitment to achieve results. Results are all that matters as they repay the investment in hardwork and perseverance. But regardless without the right skills an entrepreneur would simply be swimming in the ocean of ambition and expectation. Expectation needs to be given material worth and that comes by developing capacity.
Capacity development! It’s not enough to build capacity entrepreneurs must learn to grow that capacity. Capacity development is simply about growth; it’s about acquiring, growing, strengthening and maintaining competencies to grow the individual, maximize the opportunity of growth and to achieve results. It is creating depth for the entrepreneur that opens up new levels of performance and that strengthens his ability to achieve results on an incremental basis.
Organisations grow and as they grow new resources in terms of financial, material and human will be required to keep up with the pace of innovation and change. Developing capacity ensures that the entrepreneur stays ahead of the trend. It affords him the opportunity to grow, adapt and strengthen his capacity base to tackle new realities in business. It keeps him relevant and relevance is achieved in growth; growth in the act of capacity development.
How can capacity be developed? To develop capacity a whole lot of steps and processes exist. For me I strongly believe the following steps will suffice;
Assess your capacity assets (i.e. your current capacity) and your capacity needs. This provides a framework for what can be improved and what needs to be acquired.
Focus and work on the capacity drivers. They are the strongholds upon which capacity grows:
a. Information! Cultivate the habit of being and staying informed. Build a network of information sources.
b. Skills; competency defines performance. As an entrepreneur you must improve on your current skills and acquire new ones.
c. Experience, smart people learn from experience, wise people learn how to profit from experience. In developing capacity, you must learn how to maximize experiences. It’s not enough to learn, focus on channelling the learning process into fruits of opportunity.
Cultivate a culture of continuous improvement. If you are not improving, you lose relevance. As entrepreneurs you must stay ahead in the game of relevance.
Imbibe the business mentality! You are not just an entrepreneur, you are a businessman; this must be the mentality. And a businessman is not a title it is an investment in the capacity to compete in business. It is horning the requisite skills needed to manoeuvre the playing field and deliver on results. Results are what counts and it is built on the foundation of capacity.
It is not enough to be an entrepreneur you must develop capacity and capacity is your competitive advantage in the playing field.
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