Why I stopped studying operations? Share my entrepreneurial experience this year

The author found that operations are not a decisive factor for corporate growth. This article explains that operations are the infrastructure and breakthrough in an enterprise by analyzing the carrier, definition and value of operations. Let’s take a look!

Why don't you think about operations?

The core is that the perspective has changed.

I am more concerned about the business model and growth strategy of enterprises, so I set up a consulting company to help bosses solve growth problems.

I found that how well you do operational things is not a decisive factor in business growth.

The decisive factors are: the boss's ability, the choice of track, the formulation of strategy, the planning of tactics, the team's combat effectiveness, etc.

Not to mention the complicated situations, if the strategy is not clear or is wrong, then no matter how good the specific operational measures are, it will be useless.

If you get the question wrong, don't worry too much about the solution.

Let me talk about my current situation.

Although the focus has shifted from studying how to conduct operations to focusing on the business and growth models of enterprises, it is still essentially related to operations.

From small operations to large operations.

The differences are in the following places:

1. The carrier of operation has changed

The previous operating vehicle was an Internet product, something online.

The operations we are studying now mainly refer to the operation of an enterprise, or the operation of the core business chain within an enterprise.

The so-called operation here refers specifically to the operation of an enterprise.

For example, the hotel's recruitment of customers, front-of-house service, back-of-the-kitchen operations, customers' post-meal reviews, etc., all belong to operations.

In these links, continuously improving the guests' dining experience, refining the standardized processes, finding ways to save costs in each link, and improving the efficiency of attracting guests all rely on operational skills. The benefits that can be brought are more guests and more revenue, which is what we always call "growth."

Not just in the catering industry, every industry has a business chain, which is the carrier of operation. If it can be done well, the core operating indicators will be significantly improved.

From my perspective, there is a great need for people like us in various industries. We have a lot of room to develop if we are familiar with online or digital construction, or even use Internet thinking to locate and solve problems.

2. The definition of operations has changed

The definition of operations I proposed earlier is connection and intervention.

"Connection" means serving as a bridge between users and products , and then accelerating or amplifying the value of the bridge through event operations, user operations, content operations, etc.

"Intervention" refers to manual intervention. Since it is manual, the overall efficiency is low, and only a small group of people can be intervened. In the selection of a small group of people, the leader or key role must be selected.

I am now focusing on operations, defined as the ability to operate an asset or business effectively.

Effective refers to effect or efficiency in general. Through operational work, it can accelerate the operation of the business and improve the efficiency of turnover or monetization.

For example:

Retail looks at indicators such as inventory turnover efficiency, restaurants look at table turnover rate and floor space efficiency, hotels look at occupancy rate, and airlines look at load factors. In essence, improving these indicators depends on operational capabilities.

You will find that improving these indicators is not something that can be accomplished by a single department, but rather requires pushing the entire process from top to bottom. The problems faced and the businesses involved are diverse and complex.

3. The value of operations has changed

I used to think that operations are particularly important in all scenarios.

After recently contacting some corporate decision makers, I found that their understanding of operations is not only vague, but also that they feel that it is useless or cannot directly solve any problems.

It’s not a pain point, at least some bosses think so, which overturned my previous understanding.

After thinking about it, I found that the value of operations is indeed different for companies in different industries and at different stages.

In a stable and growing enterprise, operations are the infrastructure.

The focus is on things that are more process-oriented or infrastructure-oriented. Huge changes are unlikely to occur, and there is no need for them, but minor repairs always need someone to keep an eye on and push forward.

In a fast-growing or newly-started company, operations are the key to success.

Value is more about breaking through or solving problems. For example, solving the problem of few customers or the problem of negative word of mouth, etc. It is more about being at the forefront rather than doing infrastructure construction.

It is clear which is more important, infrastructure or breaking the deadlock.

The former is something that every decision maker says is important, but no one does; the latter is something that directly concerns interests and even life and death.

Therefore, all the companies that come to us for consulting are looking for a way out, which is important and urgent.

Author: Han Xu

Source: WeChat public account "Operation Dog Work Diary (ID: yunyingriji)"