Common Sense Forgotten

How many times have you come across a situation where there is a process and set of procedures in place that seem to run completely opposite of common sense? It happens far too often in business that good intentions run awry. Tracing backward in time it is easy to find the events and rational decisions that led to the situation. Every action was justified at the time and made perfect sense. However times have changed but the process hasn't.

Well run companies don't make rules that are not necessary. Employees are given the responsibility to solve problems the way the judge best. The more unnecessary rules that are in place, the more likely there are some that get in the way of efficiency and progress. Anyone worth keeping notices the obstacles to their success and either work to get rid of those obstacles or find a way around them (which sometimes means them leaving to have a better shot at moving up).

Remember to take the time and review the day-to-day requirements that you put upon the people beneath and around you. Every process should be reviewed regularly and everything should be kept up to date. If you have time to make them, you have time to keep up with them.

Employee Driven Change

Where does your company stand in the business pecking order? Businesses know their competition within their industry inside and out. They know who they compete with for customers and who they are consistently bidding with or against. An overlooked aspect of business is who the labor competition is or brand competition. Small businesses aren't just competing against their competitors for employees, but against related industries, large multi-focused companies and the potential of starting up a new business.

One of the ways that our company guards against these is by providing a way for new employees to maintain their own entrepreneurial interests and activities within the context of our business. I've mentioned our innovation process before and it is really the driving philosophy behind our success. We bring in the services of small businesses that we work with a lot to improve the capabilities of both parties. Our most successful employees are the ones that treat the business as if it is their own and tailor our offerings the way that works the best for them.

I work a lot with about four or five different sales people and not one of them uses my services the same way. Each one of them has their own version of our main presentations with their own flavors introduced. Each one has their own way of making sales presentations and their own version of proposals that are all written within the context of the overall business goals. This constantly drives each person to pull the best from each of their coworkers and create new service lines.

How does your business deal with alliances, partnerships and competition? Are your employees motivated to evolve their methods to improve the way your business is run?
Change always comes from within. It will happen naturally if the proper motivations and people are in place. Competition is the driver that shows you what you need to be doing, the direction you need to go. Do you embrace it and adapt or fight and try to do things the way that you have always done them? The answer to that question is the difference between a growing business and a dying one. Look at the RIAA and MPAA with their current business strategy. They are doing everything possible to protect the way they have done things.

Don't be like them. Embrace your competition, even the competitors that bring an entirely new model to the table that is seemingly makes yours out dated. Keep pushing forward and you will continue to succeed.


Technorati Tags: innovation, consulting, entrepreneur, riaa, consulting