In a new economic reality, your future success depends on your ability to embrace, employ and develop new business tactics that become your everyday operational philosophy. Even if your business industry was not severely impacted by the economic downturn, the reverberations of change are all around you.
Here are eight keys to succeeding in the new business reality:
Lean – "Lean" is a business philosophy that focuses on the elimination of waste in all areas. Visualize a lean marathon runner gliding to the finish line. Like the athlete, how do you identify and eliminate waste in your business? Lean has been practiced in manufacturing for some time, more recently successfully applied to medicine, law, construction, and accounting. Lean is not a one-time review, or a shake of magic pixie dust on the problem; it is a purposeful decision to eliminate all steps that do not add value to the customer.
Mission– Mission statements have long been displayed as a company's badge of courage.Successful companies that achieve excellence over the competition do not do this by being average, or as good as, or simply getting by. A company that excels finds a path that differentiates itself from the crowd. A mission statement that leads the company into new and exciting opportunities is needed.
Strategic Plan – Traditional strategic plans are misunderstood and have become theoretical exercises for MBA students, not tools to operate a successful business. Most plans are laid out for a Fortune 500-type company, not for a business that wants to move, separate itself from the herd, by making fast effective decisions. Embrace a fast action business plan; the One-Page Model is ideal. It typically lists your core values, BHAG, future goal and focuses on the current year and the current quarter. If your company has invested in the traditional plan, distil the hundreds of pages into a One-Page Model to be used throughout your company. Your strategic plan is not designed for your banker, or as a college thesis, but to focus the owner, manager and team on the goal.
Purposeful Decisions – Many times ineffective decisions can cost your business. With the new economic reality of fewer sales, less profit, and tighter credit, you need to implement an effective decision-making process. To move your decision making to the next level, consider, a) writing out the decision with a dollar and time budget; b) share your thoughts with your business managers so they can offer input; c) test any new opportunity for company alignment; d) determine who in the management team will be successful overseeing the decision; and, e) assess the financial risk to your business, including the dollar amount and return on investment.
Note: Financial sages have always adhered to simple rules: don't bet the ranch, make small bets, test the investment, and research a similar project outside your area.
Execution – Businesses struggle executing plans and strategies. It is documented that the creation of a strategy is a small percentage of the challenge, and that most managers surrender execution to a simple phrase, "Just-Do-It." This might work for Nike but a new offering or strategy is not executed simply by wishing. You must embrace execution in your business. Execution is carried out by leaders who overcome past practices, implement strategies, redesign, and overcome objections.
Accountability – Accountability is often delegated to subordinates because owners or managers do not want to be responsible and answerable for the outcome. Leaders must hold themselves accountable and teach management it is a way of life. Good accountability is simple and easy to measure. An owner of a sales organization would ask daily every sales person, "Did you make a sales presentation to four owners who can make the purchase?" This business owner knew if his sales team did this, it would result in sales. The salespeople loved to hear their boss exclaim, "You're having a great day!" even if they did not achieve any sales because they believed in their boss and the process.
Benchmarking – Part of taking your business enterprise to the next level requires you to have specific benchmarks. Benchmarking is keeping score. My grandmother set the benchmark for my family, exclaiming that we were not average, and were to strive for something more. The pressure was immense because it flowed not just from my parents, but uncles, aunts and cousins. It simply was not good enough to "get-by." Set benchmarks for your business so you achieve a higher level of performance. Benchmarks should be set for employee productivity, financial measures, and any specific company initiatives.
Training – Many companies train safety because it is required. How many companies train employees to effectively use the technology the company already owns? After the initial investment, your employees were likely shown how to use all features, but management did not embrace using the information, follow-up with more training, or offer help to those who struggled with the technology. Companies must provide training that works, and understand the challenge associated with learning and improving.
Other areas companies can assess and develop include managing risk, developing management, assessing the business model, optimizing resources, responding to "real" threats, and embracing change. In his book The Art of the Start, Guy Kawasaki starts each chapter with a section he labels "GIST – Great Ideas Start Things." You need GIST in your company along with eliminating waste, living your mission, planning and executing your dreams, and making decisions on purpose.
Only a few will make a conscious choice to raise their company's success to a new exciting level. Michael Jordan once said, "I've failed over and over and over again in my life and this is why I succeed." Can you say the same in your company?
