Directions for Business Success in Challenging Times

Some months ago we used this space to discuss some key principles for success in these challenging times. Because the times continue to be challenging us printers, particularly for occupants of the executive suite, I want to use our time here to look more closely at how we can manage for success.

To keep us all singing out of the same hymn book, here is a quick recap of the principles we discussed last time.

• Make certain you are in charge—a plane piloted by committee is not going to reach its desired destination. There needs to be a clear path to the goal.
• Surround yourself with people you can trust—you need loyal, truth-telling people with whom to confer, get information, and carry out directives. Move any saboteurs out as soon as possible, irrespective of their skills.
• Know how much time you have—challenging times dictate major changes. Avoid being impulsive, but don’t put off the inevitable difficult decision. The reason most wars are lost can be reduced to two words: Too late. Be sure you are living in reality now.
• You can do it—set your mind to engage the challenges confidently and boldly. This latter is much more important than most people realize. If you don’t seize the moment as the leaders, none of your followers will either.

Common Directions
There is no single, it-works-every-time formula for steering a company through challenging times, or almost every company would succeed swimmingly. There are, however, some directions you can take, whether you are trying to maintain your current success or even recover from a potential ocean of red ink.

These directions are not merely numeric, not a formula or a series of statistical calculations. Keeping a company moving north or turning one that is heading south at NASCAR speed takes much more than that. In fact, if it were simply a set of calculations you wouldn’t be reading this. You may very well know the numbers involved in keeping your business profitable, even realize that it is well within the scope of feasibility to reach those numbers, but still not know how to get them.

In my consulting career I have worked with highly successful companies, moderately successful ones and a number needing a business turnaround. In the latter instances some succeeded, others didn’t. But here’s the punch line: None of the companies—even the ones that didn’t make it—were utterly hopeless cases. In my judgment, they did not turn because the leader in charge (owner, president, general manager, whatever) did not take the right steps to make it happen.

You may have some holes in your company that can be filled by current personnel. It’s worth a try. I once spotted a young man with leadership potential driving a forklift truck. We groomed him for supervision and he quickly became a long-term key manager in the printing company.

There are at least three dimensions to address in giving yourself the maximum odds of maintaining or moving your business in a successful directions. Depending on your orientation and personality, you may be tempted to dismiss the one or two that are not in your sweet zone. Dismiss them at your own risk. You need all three and you can get all three done. Notice I said get all three done. You may need help with one of them outside your comfort zone, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that you address all three of them.