After persistent work and fight for every sale and market share, the company reaches a moment for a short relax. This is the first stage of the business development. And then it must embark the race again – or this is the second stage: the growth. Under the impact of the owner’s commercial sense, the firm still goes ahead but the temp is relatively slower. What might be the reasons?

In this article I want to pay your attention to one of the reasons which dramatically detains the production companies’ growth – The Technologist. Probably you’ll be surprised why I don’t point the sales or marketing for instance and why I point exactly the Technologist who is mainly an executive.

In my practice I’ve seen cases when the Technologist truly hinder and harm the company’s further growth.

This is how one Technologist may support a firm’s prosperity:

• By generating new ideas which to bring significant advantage to the market so that the customers wants to buy more and more goods from this producer.
• Seeks and proposes ways for improvements in production and finished goods with the current equipment and materials.
• Seeks and proposes ways for improvements in production and finished goods with new equipment and materials.

In this relation he is a key figure with powerful know-how, who has to cooperate directly with:

• The sales representatives in order to sense the market pulse.
• The marketing specialists in order better ideas for expansion to be applied.
• The buyers in order new materials, machines and technology to be found.

If you recognize your employee in the above mentioned characteristics, congratulations, you’ve done great selection. It is worth to put all necessary efforts to keep him working for you as this employee is a progress generator and if he has a chance and some freedom, he will pull the company ahead.

If you find even a piece of the above characteristics in any of your employees, you are also lucky, because you may cultivate this diamond and grow fast.

Unfortunately, part of the factories will not recognize progress generators among their employees. In some companies the reason is poor management, others do not want to pay enough for such executive, third firms are just afraid to wroth their Technologist because it would be difficult to find another one, and so on excuses.

The truth is that compromises with the person who occupies this position should not exist.

And I’ll give few examples about companies with detained growth:

1. One company, which faces issues with deliveries from current suppliers, is hardly trying to find new suppliers. Nevertheless the used materials were trivial, easy to find, easy to negotiate, every delivery was blocked by the Technologist and every time it cost a lot of nerves before the materials were received in the production. Of course the suppliers were alleged that they sell poor quality materials and the buyers were alleged that they were incapable to find suppliers. The Purchasing Manager decided personally himself to find an alternative supplier for one of the materials. The Technologist rejected the sample as unsuitable for the machines. Then the Purchasing Manager insisted the trial to be repeated but in his presence. And guess what, not only the material fit the production line but the finished good was more stable too. Soon after that the alternative material was used in mass production. The sales representative was very happy because the new more stable product allowed him to realize the so wanted export. In few months, only from export, the firm generated turnover equal to the previous year’s turnover.

The research after that showed that the Technologist cousin worked in one of the supplier’s company and the owner of the supplying firm wanted to sell all his materials in this company too. The existing conflict of interests was blocking the growth in years. It was good after all that at least someone decided to put an end of this problem.

2. Another firm grew with high speed. Hiring additional staff was drawing blank due to lack of systemized processes. The human resource turnover reached high levels, the owner wandered why people were leaving and why the inertia from the prior blossom was falling down. At the same time the waste and productions costs were increasing. When the sales representatives received a request for quotation for production of a new product, the Technologist automatically was saying that the production was impossible.

The research after that showed that the Technologist, who was a “friend” of the owner and has been working in this company since its building, did not want to write down on paper the production technology cards, neither want to share with anybody  any kind of the information known only by him.  So, for every production order it was only the Technologist who could calculate how much raw materials were needed, which materials could be used and how the machines should be supplied. Every absence of the Technologist caused production interruption. From there, the employees became unconcerned marionettes who were bored and at one moment left the company. The indispensability of this person was obvious and very dangerous. Such a high concentration of know-how in the hands of one employee may lead to destabilization and even crash for the company.

What makes the Technologist behave so destructive? The answer is simple: Fear! Fear from new, fear from getting out of the comfort zone, fear that he is not enough competent, fear not to lose his power over the owner.

The paradox is that the same fears tear the owner’s soul. And the devil’s circle is fact, where no one is happy but no one also takes any actions for corrections of the situation.

The most important in one partnership, including employer – employee, is to share the same values and to strive the same targets.

And the exit is easy – remove the emotional chains, shake off the fear and find a person who will gladly build together with you.

You may see the Bulgarian version in Business Club magazine here:

http://ww2.business-club.bg/tehnologat_%C3%A2%C2%80%C2%93_generator_na_progres_ili_prat_v_koleloto_na_promyanata-pd-1905.html