Harnessing power of austerity to create opportunity and growth

Harnessing power of austerity to create opportunity and growth: managing change for survival and prosperity.

From Robert J Toogood, Senior Partner – Chaordic Solutions:

We are constantly bombarded with negative messages about challenges ahead of us; messages that seem to continuously refer to terms like austerity, recession, revenue, growth, innovation, confidence, complexity, and chaos … to name but a few!

European leaders continue to warn us of difficult years ahead.  However, it doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom.

Whilst the inevitable chaos caused by economic uncertainty has a tendency to push organisations into retreat, this is not always the case.  Did you know that iconic companies like:

Disney, CNN, MTV, Hyatt, Burger King, FedEx, Microsoft, Apple, Gillette, AT&T, Texas Instruments, 20th Century Fox, IBM, Merck, Hersheys, IHOP, Eli Lilly, Coors, Bristol-Meyers, Sun, Amgen, The Jim Henderson Company, LexiNexis, Autodesk, Adobe, Symantec, Electronic Arts, Fortune, GE, and Hewlett-Packard

were all founded during periods of economic recession and instability.

One definition of chaos suggests it is the uncertainty sparked by uncharted territory, economic recession, and bubbles of opportunity.  We seem to phase in and out of this chaotic state … a state of randomness and disorder.  The ebb and flow happens in an almost natural way, almost mimicking what occurs in the natural world.  This system of natural governance that blends the characteristics of chaos and order is known as the chaordic state.

The good news is that we can use the significant power of these chaordic forces to help with generating revenue and growth, so important for our future economic survival.  One such way could be to embark upon a business transformation programme, another might be to merge with or acquire another company.  All of these require change … something that we have to accept is a permanent feature of the world in which we all live.

So what is business transformation – well, it’s all about aligning people, process and technology to achieve some previously agreed significant change.  These three areas also feature as being important when considering a more coordinated approach to the associated areas of governance, risk management and compliance within an organisation.

Our real-life experience shows the importance of making sure your desired significant change is relevant and appropriate ie is your business strategy “fit-for-purpose” and correctly aligned with what is going on in at the operational level?  It could be that in order to achieve your strategic objectives you need to merge with and/or acquire another company … or it could be that organic growth is what is needed.

The conclusions from an Economist Intelligence Unit report on business transformation highlighted that the ability to manage change effectively is a great competitive advantage.  It goes on to make the point that external crises such as what we are experiencing at present help to drive change in organisation and provide a “burning platform” for change, but emphasises the importance of the people-related challenges.

Several years ago, a white paper from our own consultancy promoted the benefits of using a ten-step approach for generating prosperity from the deteriorating economic conditions at that time.  It is encouraging to see that Kepner-Tregoe has been recommending a similar approach in their paper about coping with uncertainty in the business environment.  The key message from both approaches is the importance of developing a clear business strategy and then maintaining strategic directions and integrity when times get tough.

We can help you take advantage of well-proven, tools and techniques to help you survive and prosper from the continuing economic uncertainty … book a free, introductory consultation call to discuss your immediate challenges on a non-obligation and confidential basis – simply call us on +44 (0)1983 617241 to set something up.

More … http://www.chaordicsolutions.co.uk/services.html