“You have worked very hard to eliminate things that are no longer (or never were) necessary,” I added.
Denise nodded. She was listening and thinking.
“You cannot cut your way out of this. Your next step is to simplify. Look around you. What methods and processes should be simplified? What happens to methods that become simpler?”
Denise was slow to respond. Her focus had been on eliminating things. “When we simplify something, it takes fewer steps, it can be done quicker,” she replied.
“Business is not too complicated. Find a customer need (that they are willing to pay for). Make sure there is a market large enough to sustain a business. Then find ways to fill that need faster, better and at a lower cost than your competitor. Simplifying a method or process makes it faster and often lowers its cost.” -TF
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Working Leadership Online Schedule
January 26 – Orientation
February 2 – Goal Setting and Time
February 16 – Decision Making
March 2 – Planning
March 16 – Delegation
To find out more about this program and to pre-register, visit www.workingleadership.com.
We may not be able to cut our way out, but let’s not overlook the need to cut – it’s essential.
Having the misfortune of being one of the very first segments to get slammed by the market collapse I’ve had the opportunity to experience many of the pains that are currently being experienced by the general population today. Definitely not out of the woods yet, but many lessons have already been learned. Here are some ideas to help you change course and survive during these turbulent times.
Accurate Honest Assessment
Understand what your market has turned into – be brutally honest with yourself and acknowledge that things have changed by “x%†and acknowledge that they will likely decline another “x%â€. This has nothing to do with YOU or your company; this is the economy in action; stop fighting and learn to go with the flow. I still see brilliant business people fooling themselves and believing that 2009 will be an increasing year because of their strong will and overly optimistic characteristics.
Cut the Fat and trim some Muscle too
It’s a bit of a no brainer but it bears repeating… Go Lean – this is the time to change to simpler processes, eliminate redundancies, less expensive software, negotiate down lease payments and reduce your inventory levels. We must also understand that the size of the machine is what has already pout many long standing historically successful companies out of business, there may not be enough work to run your infrastructure. If so; take some aggressive steps – use that phone system in place of your receptionist, trim people and double the workload of others (people are capable of amazing things, you will be surprised).
Get Clear
What’s your goal right now? As I discovered way back in High School, its not knowledge that gives you power, its clarity. Once you get clear on your goal, communicate it over and over with your people; repetition is the mother of skill… I know it sounds wacky, but a crystal clear message just isn’t enough – Repeat the message again and again. Meetings, posters, emails, banter, games, white boards, anything and everything… just keep repeating it over and over and over. Your team will gain comfort, confidence and come together when they know what they are fighting for.
Have a Dream
Vision – it’s needed now, more than ever. And stay positive and focused, when you’re down others around you will do the same thing without even knowing it. These are the times when true leaders appear; it’s easy to be a decent leader when everything is running smooth, it’s when times are difficult that your true character and leadership skills emerge.