Bring everyone on board when effecting change

All businesses, invariably, aspire for growth and profitability but only a few sustain both in unison.

It warrants a culture and a team with a dynamic leadership. The decision-making ability, proactiveness and processes matter a lot, though execution leads above all the skills. Doing right things at the right time with a right approach are the key factors.

Often times, people focus on quantum leap growth, often described as sudden, radical shift from one mindset to another. There may be a number of small steps leading up to that major leap, and this is not to say that a big change cannot happen in an instant. There are many options one can choose to achieve this.

Many businesses aspire to entrench their foothold as market leaders in their various sectors of operations. This is why it is not uncommon for business leaders to focus on sustainability and growth, strengthen avenues to position their businesses and manage brand equity.

Some businesses are focused on building a brand and monetising it in few years, while others simply believe in diversification as a means of managing risks.

All said and done, growth, profitability, brand equity and market capitalisation can only be achieved with a clear strategic approach to managing the business, considering the fluctuations in the economy and competition. To achieve this, a professional team anchored on good leadership is needed.

Most successful businesses are family owned, and are run professionally.

Often, to effect change management in an existing business, be it family business or otherwise, one has to deal with people, policy and processes.

Organisations have intrinsic cultures which stand out like a set of DNAs. Some of the cultures are refreshing to a business, while others are obviously destructive – and will hit you like bad breath.

As you aspire for profitability, even as you make steps to effect new approach to managing the business, it is important to understand that there will be immense challenges.

Your in-tray as the change driver will include a relook of company HR policies, administration rules, decision making process, research and development, expansion and growth, fund management and protocols. That’s quite some work.

It is important to manage the pressure that comes with such a massive undertaking to avoid sliding into unmitigated complaints as they can easily lead to misalignments. This is important to note in any business.

Once a decision to institutionalise a business has been made, and the wheels set rolling, a rigorous, sustained effort is needed to steer the ship through temporary turbulence.

A problem arises when some business owners decide to side with the discontented lot in an attempt to appease them. This obviously tends to derail the process as change effectors are always pushed to the periphery as people tend to see them as a disruption. This is why you need to come up with a clear strategy to effect change and manage growth agenda before you begin to move the needle.

Take the top-down approach

First the owners of the business must resolve to make the change. They should communicate to all stakeholders that it is their desire and its should happen. The leadership and the team brought in to effect the change must be fully supported to drive the agenda with clear time lines and an appropriate approach which is conducive for people to align.

Success and failure of the execution of the change and developing a performance-oriented team depends on the manner the whole process is managed.

People must be sensitised on the need for change and the benefits well-articulated. It is also important to allow open participation from every cadre of staff. There has to be a motivating factor, something that invites, entices the people to want to align. This allows for a wholesome change in the mindset.

This a natural question, but one which is often raised in the mind. The answer to this question should be embedded in the strategy message – and communicated well in advance. A culture of performance can be inculcated into a business without causing much turbulence. Organisations aspiring for performance culture must be people-centric. Service industry focus on customers and the employees equally to ensure they are connected.

The employees represent the brand and the customers support the brand. This equation is established and strengthened through managing the expectations.

As we strive to grow and prosper, let us not forget core values; the foundation of a business the owners’ pride. The values and virtues are the heart and soul of a business; what we may need to change is the style of management, processes and systems, yet with people who are the fulcrum of the whole exercise.

The punch line or the tag line for a business invariably reflects the philosophy. It is an evolution of thoughts and practices which change based on the environment.