Many years ago, a close friend ran his then young engineering business from a small unit under the railway arches. He’d started to make a good living and so decided to expand. He rented a bigger workshop, leased another machine and hired his first employee. More capacity meant he was able to take on more work. He only took on jobs that were profitable and the business was going really well…

 

His bank account told a different story.

 

Each new order followed the same pattern. He bought the materials. His team did the work. Wages, rent and electricity had to be paid throughout. When the job was finished, he sent the invoice. A week or two later he moved on to the next job, paying out more cash as the cycle repeated. All the while, he was still waiting to be paid for the first job.

 

The faster the business grew, the more cash it needed and the wobblier his position became.

 

Nothing had gone obviously wrong. Growth had increased profits, just as he'd planned. But it had also swallowed all his cash. The first consequence wasn't the last and it was a lesson my friend has never forgotten.

 

We see variations of this same pattern on every programme. Teams make sensible decisions for good reasons, only to discover consequences they didn’t expect. The first consequence is rarely the last.