Its Just Business

I’m giving in.

I have purposely avoided blogging about the thing I know best because people might actually read it. But, today I am sharing more important issues than just my random thoughts.

I have had business philosophy and strategies drilled into my head for many years by some of the brightest and successful business people I have ever known. I have experienced past economic downturn and recovery. Although, 2001 was not this bad. I have worked for both ‘highly aggressive’ growth businesses, and ‘status quo’ organizations, and I learned a lot, even when I wasn’t paying attention.

Today, despite the recession, I believe we have a rare opportunity to affect the most change in our organizations. Many companies are smaller than they have been in years, business is relatively slow, and we don’t have the money to throw at the old problems. Most likely, the people we have left in our organizations are the most knowledgeable, loyal, opinionated, and resistant to change. And they want to help.

So what do we do with this rare opportunity to affect change if we don’t have the resources to make it happen? We use our good business sense!

My Top Four low cost suggestions to kick-start your business into recovery:

1) Evaluate your corporate goals. Today, not tomorrow! Corporate goals should be reviewed, revised if necessary, and communicated to the entire organization. Those goals should be communicated loudly and repeatedly. Corporate silence causes employees to believe they care more than you do. It increases fear. It lowers morale. Employees are concerned about their future. They have watched their coworkers, family members, and neighbors lose their jobs. More than ever, they need to see, hear, and feel that you are forging ahead, that you have not lost sight on the big picture, and that you will lead them through this economic downturn successfully. Focus your employees on your corporate goals.

2) Evaluate your communication methods and plan. This is the most critical part of the business and significantly impacts efficiencies. The more you communicate and reiterate corporate goals, initiatives, and directives the better. If you have not included instruction on effective communication in your plan, then add it. Teach by example, as well as formal training. Teach your people how to communicate effectively.

3) Evaluate your core business philosophies. Do they work with this economy? Do they need to change temporarily or permanently? Either way, it is imperative that corporate philosophies are constantly being shared, explained, and taught to your employees. They cannot uphold corporate philosophies if they do not know them, or do not understand them. By the way, philosophies are not the same as procedures. Don’t confuse them.

4) Listen to your employees. They are the experts in their respective jobs. They know where the bottlenecks are, and they have ideas to fix them. If they are not talking, then ask. If you haven’t been asking all along, they may not feel safe sharing candid responses. Keep asking until you hear the truth. Respect their opinions, and understand that you may have caused those opinions by not listening in the first place. Opinions are hard to change. Perception is reality. Don’t be afraid to find out which reality your employees are working in.

That didn’t cost much, now did it?