BDO DIAMOND business model of growth

BDO Kendalls specialises in advising businesses with ambition to grow. Having developed a robust understanding of the factors that affect business growth, BDO Kendalls uses this knowledge to help businesses avoid common pitfalls and reach their growth potential.       

That's why BDO developed the DIAMOND Model of Business Growth (c).

It's a tool that's based on academic research and the technical and industry experience of BDO Kendalls personnel from around the globe.BDO Kendalls uses the model to ensure businesses get the right advice at the right time so they can anticipate emerging issues and prepare for growth. It's a great way to focus on the real issues and develop strategies for success. 

Seven Stages of Growth

Dreaming up the idea of a new business, developing plans and defining start-up requirements.

Initiating the business plan and inspiring others in order to establish a presence in the market. This is the implementation of the dream.

Attacking the first problems of growth and coping with adolescence. During this particular stage the business unquestionably has the systems to survive and it can provide a good living for its owners. However, it is not robust enough to sustain a major change in its market or operating environment and its long-term prospects are limited by its cash flow and customer base. As a business passes through this stage, the pressures of growth accelerate.

Maturing the business with an emphasis on establishing controls, systems and methodologies. Management is professionalised in order to deal with the size and complexity of the customer base or the organisational structure of the business.

Overhauling the organisation with a clear focus on objectives. The business is more competitive and has a strong customer and marketing orientation, but there is a sense of ‘missed opportunities' and a consequent drive to optimise performance. Teams and individuals are often held accountable for results and are offered appropriate incentives.

Networking the units of the business.Strategic processes have become as important as tactical ones. Maintaining and developing a corporate image is important and, by now, earnings are often being managed for a diverse stakeholder group.

Diversifying into new products and markets. Driving growth through strategic alliances and commercial inter-dependencies which enable rapid responses to market opportunities in a fast-changing world. The culture of organisations in this stage is highly focused. In this stage, the rate of growth, year on year, will often decelerate as a function of the size of the business.

Modelling Growth    

Modelling growth may, at first sight, appear to be an academic exercise with little practical application either to our business or to those of our clients. On reflection, it is one of the most important things which we can do to assist those who own and manage growing businesses in their ambition for growth and competitive advantage.

By analysing the behaviour of a number of growing businesses, patterns emerge which have enabled us to develop theories about how businesses grow.

Rather like first-time parents, many entrepreneurs believe their circumstances and experiences to be exceptional and without precedent. Although every child is unique, all children pass common milestones in their passage towards maturity. The same is true of adolescents and adults. And the same is true of growing businesses.

Our model of business growth provides a universal template against which the progress of any commercial enterprise can be measured. It illustrates the characteristics of growing businesses in general, regardless of their size or the industry sector in which they operate.

The data we have accumulated and the tools we have developed will help entrepreneurs to deal with the present, anticipate the future and prepare for situations more effectively as they make the transition from one phase of growth to the next.