December 1, 2009

Ten BE DiFFERENT Practices to Renew your Organization

The airwaves these days are filled with commentary on the current global economic challenges faced by many countries and the highly volatile market conditions threatening business success. Even as we seem to moving out of the doldrums, nearly every aspect of the situation is being portrayed in a very negative way - the sky is falling, the sky is falling!

The descriprtions used—business failure, government bail-out, plummeting consumer demand, record levels of consumer debt, unemployment, fear, loss of economic confidence and uncertainty—paint a dismal picture of a presumed and inevitable cataclysmic outcome.

There is no question that the potential impacts of a declining economy and volatile markets are severe indeed. Businesses HAVE failed and unemployment continues to be a concern.

That said, any economic/market dilemma presents an opportunity to organizations willing to renew themselves: to implement real change based on BE DiFFERENT Practices.

Since the beginning of the industrial age, businesses and organizations have had difficulty changing their established direction or charting a new course. Inertia is a force that most have a tough time overcoming. It is much more comfortable managing the momentum of a business - led by change managers - than making the difficult decisions necessary to put the organization on a different course - a role assumed by Change Leaders.

To change the fundamental course of an organization requires that business risk be endured and that discontinuity be imposed on how the organization operates. 

Major change in an organization happens when significant events force leadership to take a different direction, indeed to often intervene upon itself. Events such as the appointment of a new CEO, a merger or acquisition or, in the case of the telecommunications industry, the introduction of competition into traditional monopoly markets are all key drivers of change. 

Why are economic slow-downs and extreme market fluctuations not generally regarded as one of these BIG events that could be considered by organizational leaders to be the stimulus of major change? Is the glass half full or half empty?

Considering change as a threat reflects the former perspective. An economic challenge as a driver of renewal speaks to the latter. This is NOT the time to hunker down; it is the time to set a BE DiFFERENT course for your organization and get on with it.

The sky isn’t falling; it offers the potential for an organization to equip itself with the road-map and competencies to not only survive economic and market threats but also to thrive and prosper in them and to position them for prosperity when the bull returns - and it is. 

The truth is this:  you really have no choice. Staying the course of an unsatisfactory strategy will not get you to where you need to go. You will continue to float downward and suffer with the end result. To do nothing is NOT an option.

Organizations must act, they must look for ways to renew themselves and navigate these troublesome times. Economic and market threats are your friends; let them lead you to your renewed future -  a better world for your customers, employees and owners.

What does the BE DiFFERENT Renewal Process look like? What are the steps that can be followed to take the negative energy imposed on an organization and turn it into a positive force for change?

Here are the ten BE DiFFERENT Practices that will position you as a long term winner.

Practice #1 - Renew your Strategy
Practices #2, #3 and #4 - Focus, Modify Business Processes and Cut the Crap
Practices #5 and #6 - Be Anal about Execution and Set Cost Objectives
Practices #7 and #8 - Plan on the Run and Customerize your Marketing
Practices #9 and #10 - Dazzle your Customers and Sell Intimate Relationships

Cheers, Roy Osing

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Posted 12.1.09 at 04:52 pm by Roy Osing | Read Comments (0) | Leave a Comment