Photo by Sunsoaked Creative, 9 Oct 2015 View image
It is easy to just plod along doing what you've always done and generally achieving the same results, month in, month out. But what about getting ahead of the game and progressing? Can you really afford to just sit back while the rest of the world races ahead making the necessary changes?
Many companies fail because they are successful and can’t cope with the growth that success brings. They don’t plan for it and when it happens they can’t grow the infrastructure of the business quickly enough to cope. For start up’s there is also the role of the entrepreneur who has to transition from energy driven go getter and master of all the business has to offer, to letting go, being motivator, trainer, coach and shoulder to cry on for the growing number of employees. Deciding that you are going to grow is not just about winning the business, it’s about keeping it. Just keeping up or making things happen.
Your business does not need to grow to survive but it does need to continually improve just to keep up. Maintaining your position can be harder than growing. Our environment is constantly changing; managing change is a given which means that companies are in perpetual transition, some by accident and some by design. It doesn’t matter if you use the language or not, actively manage change or don’t; we are all affected by what is going on around us. For some it’s just about being aware and fine tuning what they offer and how. For others there are wholesale changes. For the smart and knowledgeable there are fantastic opportunities.
It’s widely acknowledged that there are four driving forces for this next decade:
The heart will be where companies win and lose this decade. That heart will contain the people, processes and technology that will allow the business to perform like an athlete or like a couch potato.
Under those headings there are specifics that are already happening and will accelerate as the decade moves on:
- The world economy will remain volatile and chaotic
- Competition will be global
- Market changes will be fastand unpredictable
- Emphasis will be on the ability to deliver change (not manage it)
- Speed will be important (pace of change and to market)
- Differentiation will win
- Competitive advantage will be about having the knowledge to differentiate, people and networks
- Sustainability will be about all resources (natural, human and financial)
- Innovation will be continuous and create new business models and venture partnerships
- Technology that starts at design phase, delivers information, supports communication, enables e business transactions and distributed decision making will underpin business transformation activity
- Production processes will integrate lean supply chains with consumer driven value chains to provide a business wide value perspective
- Organisational structures will be flatter, networked, flexible and demand employee empowerment
- Success measures will move towards overall company value, less short term profit targets
If you are reading this list and thinking “I might as well throw the towel in now” just hold on a minute. This is not about what you know now; it’s about how quickly you can learn.
The process starts here; are you looking for growth or to maintain what you’ve got? The process is the same, the decisions you take are not.
To understand what your process might be you can buy the book or book a free chemistry session with Nina.
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