The level of complexity in business is accelerating. Although it’s exhilarating to be an entrepreneur, these mounting complications affect decision-making and, subsequently, business growth. Part of my work as a strategic coach, is to keep fast-paced, overwhelmed entrepreneurs moving through decisions with as much speed and decisiveness as is humanly possible.  Why? The speed at which decisions are made have a direct impact on the growth of the business.

In large part, the increasing complexity of business is due to the rate of information we’re exposed to on any given day.  Did you know information grows at a rate of 66% per year and it continues to climb?  Yikes!  There is nothing else like it.  And, its coming at us like a fire hose that is on wide-open in the form of TV, magazines, videos, DVD’s, blogs, social media….More information means more options which overwhelms the decision-making process and causes costly delays.

The solution to avoid decision making overwhelm? Make a decision – get additional facts – make a better decision – and do it within 3 days.  Decisions delayed longer than three days slows progress and growth of your business.

Entrepreneurs are continually on the hunt for small business ideas to spur business growth.  Most small business owners feel a major innovation will put their business on the fast track. The reality is, in the mad dash to innovate, entrepreneurs overlook seemingly insignificant opportunities that are certain to stimulate business growth.  Daniel Isenberg, Professor of Management Practice at Babson College, has a much more practical small business idea – minnovation! 

Isenberg describes minnovation as mixing small parts of novelty and creativity with huge helpings of flexibility scrappiness and a generous portion of hard-driving execution or, as he more succinctly defined it on the Harvard Business Review Blog, small tweaks and excellent execution. That makes such sense, doesn’t it.

Although fanciful dreams of spearheading the next big innovation the likes of Marc Zuckerberg of Facebook, Larry Page of Google, or the late Steve Jobs of Apple linger in the mind of many entrepreneurs, the likelihood of innovation of that magnitude is questionable.  Implementing the principle of minnovation, however, can stimulate a significant growth spurt in your business.

As a strategic coach, I experience the phenomenon of minnovation in action every day. It’s not the major overhaul or substantial innovation that puts a business on the track to growth, it’s the small tweaks that support sustainable business growth. Whether it’s fine-tuning an existing business idea, putting a different spin on a current product or service, upgrading the business model, invigorating marketing practices – the opportunities for minnovation are endless.

Don’t overlook the growth opportunities in your business – become a “minnovator”.