Running To Stand Still: A Sign Of A Positive And Leading Business Firm

Introduction

Running to stand still refers to a phase of the business from running to reaching a point where it is not moving, meaning that the business has become mature now. There are five phases of the formal life cycle, namely birth, growth, maturity, renewal, and decline. Running to stand still primarily relates to the stage of development from birth to maturity. It is standing still, meaning that it has successfully run a lot, and now after crossing the birth and growth phases, it has reached its maturity stage. It is a phase a business should always try to reach, and we can also say that it is one of the most important phases of any business life cycle. When a business comes to a standstill situation, it indicates that the business is a successful one.

How to reach a standstill situation

Every firm was started or introduced at the birth phase, and after that, it grew in the market at the growth stage and reached the maturity stage. To reach a standstill situation, a business has to make a considerable amount of effort, hence a firm needs to:

Have a clear goal or purpose.
Know how to handle the tasks, and thus should have a clear plan.
Utilize the available resources effectively.
Have sufficient capital, or maintain sufficient capital.
Provide detailed information about the services or products they offer.
Increase awareness among people about the service or product they are providing.
Attract new clients or customers.
Maintain the quality of service or products provided by them.
Maintain the prices as per the people’s ability.

If a firm accomplishes the above-mentioned activities and can maintain them consistently, then it can reach a state of standstill.

Signs of a Stand Still situation

The maturity stage is a crucial stage for any firm because it is the stage that exhibits the sign of a positive and leading business firm. The starting stage is always a risky phase, and the growth stage is the one when the firm has to make every effort to accomplish its goals. When a firm overcomes the growth stage, it should feel relatively safer than at any other stage before. This stage is known as the standstill stage. The signs of a standstill situation, or the state when a firm can declare that it is now standing still are as follows:

The firm is well-known in the market, and its goods and services are widely recognized and accepted by the public.
The firm has a good cash flow to tackle any situation.
The business is growing at a good annual growth rate.
The firm has good and professional management and, except in some circumstances, most situations that the firm will face will be predictable.
Due to professional management, the firm is relatively stable and reliable.
The firm has a strong market position due to which they will be able to decide whether to remain standstill or expand their business.
The firm is operating smoothly

Therefore, it is said that running to stand still is a sign of a positive and leading business firm. Although a standstill situation is a sign of a leading firm, it is not good to remain in that situation since such firms have a huge opportunity for expansion and growth at this stage.

Conclusion

Reaching the standstill situation or maturity stage is the dream for any firm. There is a lot of effort to be made between the running and stand still phase. Reaching the maturity stage increases the brand value of a firm, and they will possess good cash flow due to which they can standstill. Then again, remaining in the standstill stage is not ideal as the firm has a chance for growth and expansion which they should seize while they still have the advantage of a good brand, a stable environment, and a chance of expansion.