Every growing business has an ambition. What is yours?

1. MATTER?
BUSINESS IS POWERED BY AMBITION.
WHETHER IT’S THE DESIRE TO MAKE MONEY, IMPROVE THE LIVES OF WORKERS, OR MAKE A
MARK ON SOCIETY, IT’S THESE AMBITIONS THAT DRIVE BUSINESSES FORWARD.
A SURVEY FROM CIRCLE RESEARCH INTERVIEWED...
FROM DIFFERENT INDUSTRIES AROUND THE WORLD.
ALL THE BUSINESSES CONSIDER THEMSELVES TO BE AMBITIOUS.
OF COMPANIES
SURVEYED... 46%
OF THESE CONSIDER
VERY
MORE AMBITION = MORE ACHIEVEMENT
MORE THAN
AMBITIOUS? WHO’S
SAID THEY WERE
AMBITIOUS THEMSELVES
AMBITIOUS
WHY DOES
COMPANIES.
EMPLOYING...
PERSONNEL
OR LESS...
BUT WHAT ARE THEIR AMBITIONS?
And, more importantly, how can focusing on those ambitions lead
to better performance?
VERY AMBITIOUS
COMPANIES
50% SAW
1IN6
REVENUE GROWTH
OVER THE LAST
TWO YEARS.
THAT’S MORE THAN TWICE
AS MANY COMPARED WITH
‘AMBITIOUS’ COMPANIES.
27%
OF THE VERY
AMBITIOUS EXPECT
ANOTHER...
50%
GROWTH OVER
THE NEXT
TWO YEARS.
IT’S JUST 11% FOR
AMBITIOUS COMPANIES.
SO, WHAT ABOUT GLOBALLY?
THE KEY AREAS OF AMBITION
AMBITIOUS BUSINESSES FOCUS ON THREE DISTINCT AREAS:
47%
ACHIEVING
GROWTH
27% 19%
CUSTOMER
SUCCESS
BUSINESS
IMPROVEMENT
AMBITIONS FOR GROWTH
WHERE DO BUSINESSES THAT AIM TO GROW SEE THEIR PRIORITIES?
64%
WANT TO GROW
THEIR REVENUE
41%
WANT TO INTRODUCE
NEW PRODUCTS AND
SERVICES
39%
HAVE PLANS TO
EXPAND INTO NEW
TERRITORIES
HOW DO AMBITIOUS COMPANIES WANT TO
IMPROVE THEIR BUSINESS?
OF BUSINESSES
WANT THEIR EMPLOYEES TO BE
MORE EFFICIENT
OF AMBITIOUS SMEs
KNOW THEY NEED TO RESPOND
BETTER TO CHANGING MARKET
CONDITIONS
HOW DO THEY FOCUS ON
CUSTOMER SUCCESS?
59%
KNOW THEY NEED TO
DELIVER PRODUCTS ON
TIME, AND TO STANDARD
54%
WANT TO UNDERSTAND
THEIR CUSTOMERS
BETTER
34%
WANT TO IMPROVE
THEIR CUSTOMERS’
LIVES
WHAT ELSE DO THEY WANT TO DO?
AS WELL AS AMBITIONS FOR GROWTH AND IMPROVEMENT,
7% OF AMBITIOUS COMPANIES WANT TO IMPROVE SOCIETY.
TO DO THIS:
30% 22% 14%
WANT TO IMPROVE THEIR
EMPLOYEES’ LIVES
AIM TO MAKE A POSITIVE
IMPACT ON THE LOCAL
COMMUNITY
CONTRIBUTE TO
CHARITABLE CAUSES
TECHNOLOGY IS ESSENTIAL
87% OF BUSINESSES SURVEYED AGREE THAT EXCELLENT TECHNOLOGY AND
COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS ARE CRITICAL TO ACHIEVING THESE AMBITIONS.
IN FACT:
84% 75% 69%
SAY THAT INVESTMENT
IN TECHNOLOGY HAS
RESULTED IN REAL
BUSINESS BENEFITS
USE TECHNOLOGY TO
DIFFERENTIATE THEMSELVES
FROM COMPETITORS
AIM TO BE THE FIRST
BUSINESS TO ADOPT
NEW TECHNOLOGIES
SEE HOW YOU COULD BUILD ON your ambitions
READ THE FULL REPORT
Source: "Ambition: Why being ambitious matters and how SMEs are achieving their
goals" A Circle Research Study, sponsored by SAP
804
90%