Next Level

Contrary to popular belief, Charles Darwin did not talk about survival of the fittest. What he actually said was “It is not the strongest of the species that will survive, nor the most intelligent; it is those who adapt the best to change who will survive” and this is true in business, especially when times are tough.

Those who want to not just survive but thrive need to constantly review what they do and how they do it and when the economic climate is challenging it is even more important to seek and implement new ways to be leaner, deliver better service, cut out inefficiencies and focus on the most profitable areas of the business.

It is recognised that most innovation comes during difficult trading times as a result of businesses being forced to make changes to survive. I believe there are two types of change – healthy change and unhealthy change.

Whilst both may be forced upon a business, healthy change is directed towards improving outcomes for the business and is done wholeheartedly with the belief that it is worthwhile. It could be argued that it is reactive but in my view, having been put in the position where change is necessary, healthy change is pro-active as when it is done, the management have taken control and are directing change.

In contrast, unhealthy change is often left to the last minute and has an air of desperation about it, action being taken reluctantly and only being taken as management perceive they have few choices left to them. They have a defensive attitude, often referred to as a bunker attitude, making a final stand, which often it is since unhealthy change is often left until too late when it has little chance of succeeding.

So why do some management teams make healthy change and others make unhealthy change?

Having worked with businesses of various sizes across many sectors, I believe the factors include:

• Culture of the business

• Mindset of the chief exec

• Strength of vision for the business

• Customer focus

• Engagement of the management team and staff

Businesses with a CANI (Constant and never ending improvement as promoted by the Eight Principles of Quality management) or Kaizan (the Japanese equivalent) are constantly reviewing what they do and looking for better ways of doing it so when faced with challenges they will naturally be looking for solutions with a positive outcome.

Businesses where improvement is not encouraged and things are done the way they have always been done will often meet challenges like a rabbit facing headlights. They do not know which way to turn, they have no experience, systems or processes to review what they are doing and identify positive options for improvement.

The mindset of the chief exec or business owner is probably the main factor as the culture of the business will be a reflection of that mindset. A chief exec who is open to new ideas and encourages his/her team to recommend improvement will have a positive culture in the business and strong team members who are able to contribute.

The dictatorial chief exec or business owner will have stifled original thinking, encouraged yes-men and probably driven away the type of manager who is needed when times are tough, those capable of original thinking and strong enough to say what they think and debate new ideas.

Businesses with a strong vision of their future have something to focus on. Without a longer term objective it is difficult to make short term goals. You cannot set a direction of travel if you don’t know where you are trying to get to. Without this focus, businesses often get distracted by trivia and become bound by routine – they come in every day and do what they always have done.

Having a strong customer focus is a constant reminder that the business must set out its stall to provide products and/or services that customers need and value and must provide a consistent high level of customer service as well as make a profit. Without this external focus businesses are internally focused and tend to do things to suit themselves, forgetting that if customers do not like the changes they will vote with their feet, adding to the problem.

Lastly, if the management team are not fully engaged with the business or with a strong vision of where the business is going then many will react to challenge by looking for better opportunities.

Remember – it is the rats who can swim who leave a sinking ship first!

You will be left with those who lack the skills, expertise or confidence to get another position – hardly the kind of team you need to get through difficult times!

So where do you go from here?How do you protect and increase your market share?

• Regard challenges as an opportunity to make improvements – this might sound cheesey to some but how often do you hear business owners saying they emerged stronger after a tough period? How often are new ideas generated as a result of having to do things differently.

• Encourage new ideas – have regular team meetings and brain-storming sessions – don’t wait for tough times, do it regularly.

• Bring in an outside pair of eyes – acting as a virtual non-exec director I often spot opportunities that are missed by management teams – it’s the nose too close to the glass, woods and trees syndrome. Often, the thinking that got you into a mess is not going to be the thinking that gets you out of it.

• Act before it is forced on you – be prepared to reset objectives and think the unthinkable but keep a positive approach so that you end up stronger, leaner, fitter, more focused – ready to take advantage of the up-turn when it comes.

Make a step to Healthy Change – contact me today for a free Business Review.