Many business owners shrug off challenging issues with “that’s the way it’s always been.” This lazy way of thinking can eventually cause their businesses to follow a path of slow decline into irrelevance and failure. They fail to realize that something doesn’t have to be broken to need fixing. As the leader, it is your responsibility to ensure that complacency doesn’t stop you from creating a culture of proactive evaluation to fix issues BEFORE they start.
Watch our blog this week as Wayne talks about the consequences of falling prey to this foolish “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” advice and presents you with ideas on how to reinvent your business with time.
We’d love to hear your thoughts and comments.
Dr. Teresa Nazario says:
HOLA from San Juan, Puerto Rico.
I find your blogs helpful as I am a consultant in big and small family businesses. I take notes and read the transcript and even send your video to my clients. GRACIAS, thanks
Wayne Rivers says:
You’re very welcome! Glad to be helpful!
Brian Kerzetski says:
I really appreciate your blogs and share them with all our owners.
I would like to point out something that’s been bugging me: you ask us to click on the social media icons, but I cannot find them on your blog page. Am I missing them?
Thank you for what you are doing.
Wayne Rivers says:
Thanks, Brian. You’re right: the icons were missing! We have repaired them now. Thanks for the assist!
Matthew F. Erskine says:
Good summary of the issues. Leonard Schlesinger and Charles Kiefer describe the decision making process that founders and entrepreneurs use to get succeed in their book “Just Start”. What founders (and their children, employees and other stakeholders) need is a Plan B.
Events outside of your control (death, disability, market forces, government regulation, etc.) will occur, so what does everyone do then? You may not want to sell the company, but sometimes you (or more likely your spouse and children) have to, so what do they do then? You may lose a major supplier (like during the Kobe earthquake and the auto industry) what do they do then?
It does not have to be an elaborate plan, it could be on just one page, but it gives guidance in a situation which has never happened before (surprise, your dead!) and there is a gap in leadership (yep, you the CEO) and they have to react immediately (the bank has called the LOC).
So, what is Plan B?
Yes, argue with success, but also have a Plan B, just in case.
Nick Service says:
Hi Wayne, great advice, thank you.
I’m now the fourth generation leading our family publishing business and I know, from my own experience, how wise your words are.
The senior team and I are now sorting out the problems caused by the previous generation’s approach of “we can maintain the bottom line by cutting costs, rather than investing in developing the products and the people”. It worked in the past and for the first year of the economic crisis, but meant we were not able to take advantage of new business opportunities when the economy picked up again.
Your blogs are great – keep up the good work,
Nick
Wayne Rivers says:
Thanks, Nick!