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| Determine What NOT To Do With Your Limited Resources |
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Was it the end of a year you have been celebrating, or is it the beginning of a new year? Regardless of the reason for your rejoicing, let me raise the inevitable question: what are your next steps? One fact I hope we an all agree on: there is no need anymore to strategize in order to initiate change. The new reality we woke up to in the latter of 2008 established the fact that change has started. It may not be the change you were planning or hoping for. It may not be the optimal change for your company, but let's face it: it is here. It is a fact. Now it is up to you to establish your course of action, while maximizing your limited resources, and implement a successful and sustainable strategy. Now is not the time to experiment and waste your limited resources. Now is the time to march with confidence into well chartered waters and do it right. The first time. And another fact I would like to stress: hope is NOT a strategy. We need to accept the reality of doing business in the global marketplace, and look for solutions to support this shift in the world economy. This is your wake-up call. The opportunity to plan for today’s growth strategies passed, and many missed that mark. Fortunately, today is the day to start planning for tomorrow’s growth, and there is still time. However, the old strategies of cost-cutting and down-sizing will not suffice in the decade ahead. Only new methods and new solutions designed to respond to today’s global market will provide future success. By 2020, 80 percent of the world’s consumer base will reside outside U.S. boundaries. These are our/your future customers, future partners, and the future path toward growth. Harness the power of yesterday’s advances in technology and communication and connect, starting today, with this vibrant global market. Take a reality check, reform corporate mindset and embrace the new reality – it’s the only reality available. Then, map out a plan to incorporate new solutions for these new global opportunities. First step: Know thy business, and mind it. Whether your aim is to outsource or to penetrate new markets, the main points of focus should always be the market and the competitive situation together with your company’s products, core competencies and strategies, as well as the financial and human resources. By focusing on these factors, the international possibilities and challenges to your company can be identified the best possible way. Assessing the new economic reality, ask your team the following questions: 1. How do we create and promote value and not discounted rates? 2. What do we do if you are not in a commodity type business, but are being treated as if you are a commodity? 3. How are you going to adapt to the new economy? 4. What are the missing variables and/or information needed to objectively make strategic decisions? Second Step: Plan your attack. One of the most effective strategies is to attack your market from multiple positions. It usually creates the surprise element. Now you create a time advantage and it will show up in your increased success and ROI. However, you have to bring value to the market in order to win this round. Evaluate the following with your team: 1. How do we create differentiation and increase the value of our offering and better meet the needs of our markets? 2. What does it take to succeed in this market/economy and how are we going to implement it? 3. How do we determine the multiple positions, the tools and gear for a successful plan? 4. Do we have the right people and processes to support our plans? 5. How will we know we got there? What are our measures for success? Third step: evolve, adapt, reinvent. 1. What are you as business leaders/owners doing to avoid complacency? 2. What is your plan to avoid irrelevance in the global marketplace? Over the years, we have seen our economy change, with several periods of sustained economic growth and several periods where our economy suffered. I am sure you have experienced similar cycles in your business. But throughout that time, the US was the strongest economy in the world, with hardly any other country or regions to seriously compete as second. This reality has changed and you may need new tools and a revised mindset to cope successfully with these new challenges. The reality is that all of us compete in the world as it is – not the world as it was – or the world as we wish it to be. The reality of our world is that globalization is relentless, inevitable, and as the world gets flatter, and it will, industries will continue to be transformed by technology, global mobility and communication. What’s your plan? |