It's Business as Un-usual

Last week I sat through a client's strategic planning session and watched as the management team tried to make sense of the current economic climate, its impact on their business and the corresponding outlook of the business 5 years hence. There were some good discussions, interesting scenarios offered but if the truth be told - no-one had a clue what the business would look like 5 years out, let alone 18 months out. Why? because none of the management team had ever experienced what they were now facing; nor as an affiliate - had they a true understanding of the expectations of Head Office and the challenges facing the business as a whole globally. So it begs the question, 'in today's current business climate - does it really make sense to expect affiliates to develop 5-year strategic plans?' I suspect not.

It's business as un-usual but I do strongly believe that today's economic climate provides companies with an unbelievable opportunity to tear down walls and rebuild into stronger and better companies. Unfortunately, for many the opposite is occurring. They are battening down the hatches and disappearing up their own back apertures in their attempts to deal with the crisis facing them. For example, one client that we work with was issued with a directive from Head Office not to employ any further staff. The policy was one-in, one-out or simply non-replacement. This left the management team despondent because they needed resources (of the human kind) to meet their growth projections. Their reaction on being told the directive was to throw up their hands and say, 'well, we can't get the growth targets, then!'

I then asked the management team to do the following: Assume they were the owners of the business and knowing what they know today about the business, its products, its customers etc - on a blank sheet of paper, how would they structure the business. In other words, they would be starting from scratch. A funny thing happened. Not only did they structure the company in such a way that growth areas had the most resources, but the team actually ended up with exactly the same number of people as they currently had. No more. What they realized was that they were trying to prop up an inefficient structure by piling on more resources rather than tearing down walls and redesigning a structure that was more appropriate to their strategy.

It's business as un-usual so don't be afraid to tear down walls and build a structure that is relevant to your strategy today. 

ian

Comments

[Meredith Haberfeld Coaching]

Great info! Thanks!