Economic Slowdown?

By Robert Hougland

[dropcaps type=”circle” color=”” background=””]W[/dropcaps]hile some form of economic slowdown may seem possible at times, it is important to occasionally prepare for it. In 2007, the experts varied widely in their opinions of an economic slowdown. A few responsible opinions bear consideration. Interviewed on the KNX Business Hour, Jack Kyser, Chief Economist of the Los Angeles Economic piecharts graphsDevelopment Corporation retained his 40% possibility of recession prediction with the qualifier that Orange County would suffer more than other SoCal counties. On the same program, John Augustine, Chief Investment Officer at Fifth-Third Asset Management pointed out that two precursors to past recessions are not in place: there were no excess inventories in other than housing, and all segments of the export market were healthy. In testifying before a Congressional committee, Fed Chief Ben Bernanke expressed support for a prompt economic stimulus package, but maintained his position that 2008 would not see a recession.

Regardless of who was eventually proven right or wrong, we need to be ready for slow economic growth. Economic slowdown can mean that some marketplaces and the revenue they generate are going to grow more slowly than normal…and some may even decline for a while. Permit me to share some thoughts from what I’ve seen about small businesses during down economic times over the last 30 years. You may well have thought of all of these, but it might be worthwhile to refresh your thinking.

You’re an entity: What happens in your marketplace and/or what happens to any or all of your competitors does not necessarily have to happen to you in similar proportion. When revenues taper off or even drop dramatically, every company in that market is not impacted identically. You have opportunities to influence how a slowdown affects you. Focus on your opportunities, not your limitations.

Think wide, not narrow: Consider the value of chipping away at expenses and costs a little bit here and there rather than focusing on one or a few areas to slash. No one likes to lay off staff, but make sure you’ve explored the alternatives of reduced hours, cutting overtime, etc. And, consider the long-term implications of layoffs: you may be able to do some reorganization to permanently trim some fat. Just make sure your job descriptions are based on functions which need to be performed, not the particular array of skills of specific employees. Finally, don’t overlook profitability. If you can trim your profit expectations for a few months, you can relieve some of the cost-cutting pressure.

Don’t stop marketing: The biggest and most common mistake I’ve seen owners/CEOs make is to slash or even trash their marketing/sales/advertising/promotion budget(s) when revenue drops off. Of course, you gotta do what you gotta do. But, consider these things: 1) With very rare exceptions, your revenue stream isn’t going to totally dry up…there will be continued demand to some reduced degree for what you sell. 2) As your customers become more selective in their purchases of goods and services and as they seek to consolidate vendors, you have the chance to distinguish yourself even more from your competitors. 3) Its likely that some or possibly most of your competitors are going to chop their marketing budgets, and the ones who do are working from a position of weakness while those who don’t from a position of strength. 4) Numerous studies have shown that its more difficult for a customer to stop ordering or to cancel an order from a vendor with whom they have good rapport than one who’s just another supplier. 5) Perhaps most important, if you can gain some market share during a downturn, that will translate to better market share and profitability when the market rebounds. So, what can you do?

good times mkt sharebad times mkt shareback to good times mkt share

Maintain contact with your customers to the greatest degree possible. Talk to your large customers personally. Listen to their problems and see if you can offer any kind of help.

Be creative: Are there ways where you can “package” your products together to make them more attractive? Are there any premiums or freebies you could offer on the short-term? (Many industries, particularly the auto industry, have found that the most effective is something that improves the usefulness or enjoyment of the basic purchase). Can you give some kind of short-term financial break in return for a commitment to keep buying from you? Look at your vendors the same way. What can they do to help you to reduce inventories or costs?

Keep the blinders off: You never know what might be important to a customer or prospect and what will influence them to continue buying from you. Some examples from my experience:

A client was seeking to take a $400K/yr contract with an aircraft manufacturer away from a competitor. Knowing the prospect was looking to cut costs, we interviewed the buyer and learned they had problems with internal distribution of large, palletized shipments among their many buildings over several square miles. We met with the receiving supervisor and several shop foremen, then returned to the receiving dock with an idea: custom, rather than bulk, palletizing with additional color-coded labels to identify destinations, backed up with availability of one of our knowledgeable people to answer questions. The supervisor agreed to write a letter to the buyer on our behalf, and we got and kept the contract without having to underbid our competitor. Our cost was about one manday of blue collar time per month and we maintained a normal profit margin.

A company providing technical consulting services to a major insurance company was notified of the necessity to look at cutting back or even cancelling the contract because of new budget constraints. We put ourselves in the client’s shoes and took the initiative to present a new proposal. By separating the observation and information-gathering portions of the project from the analysis and documentation portions, we could have our high-hourly-rate professionals work at home instead of client-provided offices and reduce their on-premise time to alternate weeks and even every third week. Since we didn’t have adequate office space, all the consultants agreed to work at home and we would reimburse them for telephone expenses (this was pre-internet). Finally, we prioritized some of the steps in the project, identifying those which could be obeyed without interfering with goals, and we told the client we’d pick up the long-distance bills. The client said the reduced billable hours along with reduced transportation, lodging, per diem, etc. didn’t quite match his economy goal, but it was so close that he agreed to the changes and found the dollars he needed else where. Eventually, the hours that were postponed were made up.

My client who sold primarily to the hospitality industry was devastated by the impact of 9-11, and we rushed to see what we could do to salvage as much business as possible has hotel and restaurant business dropped dramatically. By learning some of the changes our customers were going to make, we were able to determine that earlier daily deliveries would be helpful. Since we used our own fleet, it was easy to schedule trucks to leave the plant at 2AM instead of 3AM to accommodate our customers’ new needs, and we implemented it within 24 hours. By taking a critical look at our internal operation, we were able to offer acceptance of orders until 4PM for next day delivery instead of 2PM. Several large accounts actually consolidated their business with us because we were there promptly with two workable solutions, even though the total volume lagged for a while.

Keep your presence out there: As much as possible, maintain your advertising and promotion activities so your name remains in the minds of your customers and prospects. I’ve lamented with a number of CEOs over the years who, after the fact, realized that pulling in their horns in caused them to lose market share during a tough period and that they faced an uphill battle to try to win those customers back. One client thought long and hard about not attending a trade show which they hadn’t missed in years. Deciding finally to go, he discovered that both of his major competitors backed out and he came back with plenty of business cards of people for follow-up.

Bottom line: Your customers will continue to buy something from someone. You need to be aggressive and show interest to keep them in your corner, although in reduced volumes for a while. When the economy bounces back, if you’re the supplier or provider who helped that customer through his rough time, you’re in the perfect position to reap the benefits in man carrying piea robust market. You could rebound with an increased market share.

Permission is needed from Lighthouse Consulting Services, LLC to reproduce any portion provided in this article. © 2014

Bob Hougland holds a BA in Psychology and is a Vietnam vet with almost 5 years’ USAF active duty. He began his business career in the fast-track executive development program at AT&T, but sought out smaller employers. For most of a decade, he held sales management positions at L.A. radio stations KIIS, 93KHJ, and K-EARTH101, and created a successful marketing consulting division for RKO General Radio. With both sales management and marketing management awards under his belt, he founded RGH MARKETING. He now is the Owner/Consultant at SuperTemp where he continues his career of helping good organizations be better, new ones to get off the ground and bringing some back from the brink of failure. He is a strategist who sees opportunities where others see problems and bring lessons learned in a wide range of industries to bear on new situations. He can be reached at 803-774-7777 or SuperTemp@pacbell.net or you can read his blog at http://businessguy.biz/.

If you would like additional information on this topic or others, please contact your Human Resources department or Lighthouse Consulting Services LLC, 3130 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 550, Santa Monica, CA 90403, (310) 453-6556, dana@lighthouseconsulting.com & our website: www.lighthouseconsulting.com.

Lighthouse Consulting Services, LLC provides a variety of services, including in-depth work style assessments for new hires & staff development, team building, interpersonal & communication training, career guidance & transition, conflict management, 360s, workshops, and executive & employee coaching. Other areas of expertise: Executive on boarding for success, leadership training for the 21st century, exploring global options for expanding your business, sales and customer service training and operational productivity improvement.

To order the books, “Cracking the Personality Code” and “Cracking the Business Code” please go to www.lighthouseconsulting.com.

Opportunities Could Be Standing Right In Front of You

By Dana Borowka, MA

[dropcaps type=”circle” color=”” background=””]I[/dropcaps]f this topic keeps you up at night, we have some ideas for you to consider and implement so your sailboatorganization will not only make it through the current state of business but will thrive well into the future! You’ll know by reading this article if your ship is heading towards the rocks, towards the open sea or on a clear course to your destination.

Think for a moment about the various components of a boat that are needed in order to keep it afloat and heading in the intended direction. Observe how they compare to your organization.

Components of a Vessel

Hull – Need to have a structure that can endure and thrive in the elements.
Fuel – The energy needed to move the vessel forward and towards its destination.
Crew – The crew will either make sure the ship reaches its destination in a timely manner or cause it to go off course or cause an incident that could result in loss of resources.

The Changing Environment

Water is the most unstable surface on our planet. No matter how much planning a business does a rogue wave can come along and cause havoc. This might be changes in the market, unhappy clients, distribution channels, technology, financial, etc. Preparation can only go so far yet if your organization has one key ingredient you’ll be able to survive and thrive beyond your wildest dreams.

Key Ingredient to Thrive

The answer always comes back to having the right crew on board. It all begins with the selection process, mentoring and staff development. If this is done correctly or you have the right people with potential for growth, you’ll not only make it through to 2013… you’ll also be ready to ride the wave of 2014 and beyond! Let’s take a look at how this works.

By having the right crew on board, you’ll have:

  1. Contributors – That will help the ship reach its course through innovation, ingenuity, timely fulfillment of tasks, follow through, etc.
  2. Happy customers – They’ll keep coming back due to the outstanding service and quality of the product.
  3. Happy employees – They’ll go the extra mile for the organization and its customers. This also leads to positive word of mouth that can attract top talent.
  4. Open Minded Culture – Problem solving is the key to anticipate needs, deal with weather changes, being open to adapting to the environment.
  5. Profitability – You’ll meet your organization’s goal and objective where everyone is rewarded for doing a great job and your organization will be able to continue to provide services and products with the opportunity to visit other destinations in the future.

ocean waveAn organization can build a sturdy ship but without the right people behind the scenes it won’t leave port. All this starts with the captain of the ship and with its officers. If they select the correct crew up front, they know the job will get done correctly, in a timely manner and the work can be trusted. Can you trust that your crew will do their job not only correctly and in timely manner? Do they also contribute ideas for further improvement so you can get the maximum value from each individual?

If the answer is “I’m not sure” then your answer may be reflective of the future survival of your vessel. Every organization must have all hands on deck with crew members that are excited and grateful to be aboard and have the ability to perform the best they can.

A Whale of a Tale for Teamwork

A manager once had an outstanding team but always told everyone what to do. This person didn’t listen, didn’t ask questions, demanded a higher level of volume without asking if the organization could handle it and created a closed environment. Over time things started to slip through the cracks, customers were not getting the attention they needed, sales slipped, people started to leave and the organization began to develop a bad reputation where recruitment became a problem. Upper management stepped in and started to ask the team members for their feedback. It turned out that the manager was not a good fit for that position and was transitioned into another department. When the new manager was selected, it was based not only on experience but also the ability to work with others. They learned that it is vital to understand a person’s work style and how they interact with others in order to have a high performing team. If just one person isn’t “playing well in the sandbox” the effects can ruin a brand and effect sales and future growth of an organization.

A Checklist for Success

  1. When selecting the crew – have a clear understanding of the ideal crew member and have a system and process to assure you have selected the correct crew members. This can be done through interviewing and asking questions for specific examples and compare those answers to what an ideal crew member would do. Gather as much data as possible from reference and background checks as well as provide an in-depth work style and personality assessment with Lighthouse Consulting Services. The information should be used to validate the interview responses, background and reference checks.
  2. Ask each current crew member for feedback on where they see the team and themselves could be more efficient in the market place within the next 30-60-90 days. This means that everyone on your ship needs to have their eyes and ears open to seeing where it might be possible to improve and enhance processes, structure, services, customer service, etc.
  3. Captains and officers need to listen to everyone and create a truly open environment. Come up with three things that you can do that will make that happen.
  4. Define what the ideal crew member would possess in skills, work style and personality and make it measurable.
  5. Assist the current crew to fulfill that role. Make sure you have an in-depth work style and personality assessment of your crew members so you’ll have the insight to help man on lighthouse with boatseveryone thrive and to get the best performance from every member of the team. You’ll want to know how someone problem-solves, deals with stress, makes decisions, processes information, creates and follows up on leads, etc. This will help to ensure that you have the right person in the correct position so they can perform to the best of their ability. Contact us at reception@lighthouseconsulting.com to get started.

If you have the right team in place, your organization will be able to deal with the many challenges that will come along during the voyage. The key is to hire right the first time and to assist those on board to be the best that they can be. This will lead to happy customers, happy employees, innovation for the future, efficiency for delivery of the product or service and of course, a profitable bottom line.

You can gather additional ideas for working with your current and future crew members by reading Cracking The Personality Code. To order this book, go to: www.lighthouseconsulting.com.

Permission is needed from Lighthouse Consulting Services, LLC to reproduce any portion provided in this article. © 2014

Dana Borowka, MA, CEO of Lighthouse Consulting Services, LLC and his organization constantly remain focused on their mission statement – “To bring effective insight to your organization”. They do this through the use of in-depth work style assessments to raise the hiring bar so companies select the right people to reduce hiring and management errors. They also have a full service consulting division that provides domestic and international interpersonal coaching, executive onboarding, leadership training, global options for expanding your business, sales and customer service training, operational productivity improvement, 360s and employee surveys as well as a variety of workshops. Dana has over 25 years of business consulting experience and is a nationally renowned speaker, radio and TV personality on many topics. He provides workshops on hiring, managing for the future, and techniques to improve interpersonal communications that have a proven ROI. He is the co-author of the books, “Cracking the Personality Code” and “Cracking the Business Code”. To order the books, please visit www.lighthouseconsulting.com.

If you would like additional information on this topic or others, please contact your Human Resources department or Lighthouse Consulting Services LLC, 3130 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 550, Santa Monica, CA 90403, (310) 453-6556, dana@lighthouseconsulting.com & our website: www.lighthouseconsulting.com

Lighthouse Consulting Services, LLC provides a variety of services, including in-depth work style assessments for new hires & staff development, team building, interpersonal & communication training, career guidance & transition, conflict management, 360s, workshops, and executive & employee coaching. Other areas of expertise: Executive on boarding for success, leadership training for the 21st century, exploring global options for expanding your business, sales and customer service training and operational productivity improvement.

Things to Consider for Operational Excellence

By Ted Margison – Excerpt from the book, Cracking the Business Code

[dropcaps type=”circle” color=”” background=””]T[/dropcaps]his section was going to be “8 Things to Consider for Operational Excellence”. The good news for you: there are only two things to consider.
bizbuilding1

Better Visibility Provides Better Results

A supplier of protective gear was struggling to meet demands. “We have tried everything over the past couple of years but nothing works. Our turns are less than 1 and we still can’t fill demand. We’ve been selling size 10 and 11 boots the last couple of years and now a customer needs size 13. No matter what we stock, it doesn’t seem to be the right thing; it’s like a guessing game.”

While I was in the General Manager’s office, he received a very angry call from the CEO of a very large customer. Without proper protective gear workers could not work – the downtime on one of their lines cost them about $100,000 per day.

biz in hourglassObviously, the current decision-making processes were not effective; something was missing. We mapped the decision-making processes to find the “blind spots”. These are decision points that are not fully understood or assumptions have been made about them. The blind spots in this case were the decision-making processes of customers. In particular, what drives demand.

We interviewed the top 20 customers and found that demand was driven by two things: replacement of worn-out items and new hires. For replacement we realized that we could predict product life-expectancy based on job position and work environment characteristics. We proposed to the customers that we would gather and consolidate data across customers on job positions and work environment characteristics to predict life-expectancy and then automatically reach out to replace the items. For example, if a product had a life-expectancy of 36 months for workers in a particular department, we would do an inspection at 30 months and replace the item before it wore out. “New hire” demand was primarily “large scale” – new plants being opened, new mining projects. We identified a simple way of inserting ourselves in the hiring process to identify the best-fit product based on job position and work environment characteristics.

The customers were so excited about the recommendations that five of them offered, each, to pay half the cost of any system effort. Some offered the opportunity to bid on business that was going to competitors, while others simply switched their business from a competitor. As one customer said “We no longer have to worry about these decisions – you are making them for us. The cost of these products is far less than the cost of downtime; why would we talk to anyone else.”

Another company was about to make a strategic decision that would have serious operational impact. “We need to move to same-day shipping to get a competitive edge. Our customers buy when something breaks so we have to be able to respond quickly”, said the Sales Manager. The company had recently moved from 5-day turnaround on orders to 2 days and inventory had climbed to the point where turns hovered around 1.2. Moving to same-day shipping was going to be a major challenge.

In order to better understand the buying process for customers we interviewed the top 20 customers. Surprise: All could give at least three months notice on demand; one could give 12 months.

“Why do you give us only 2 days notice”, the CEO asked.

“Because that’s the lead time you gave Purchasing.”

We found some quick and easy ways to get this advance notice and in just a couple of months we were buying ‘to-order’ for these customers. We also approached supplier offering the advance notice. The VP Operations for the largest supplier (a company whose typical customer was 40 times our size) said “If you give us this advance notice you can order anything man jumping bldgyou want up to end of the day on Friday and it will be on the truck Monday morning.”

In less than a year inventory turns reached 7.3. Shortly afterward, the company went on to acquire a larger company.

To get better visibility you need to go beyond your operations to include customers, business partners, suppliers and other external organizations. Start with processes that are key to achieving your business goals. Map your current processes (goes as far upstream and downstream as possible):

• Identify decision points

• Find the ‘blind spots’ for decision-making

  1. Who makes the decisions?
  2. What drives their decision-making? 

— Triggers?
— What are they measured on (what’s a win for them)? 
— Are they ‘driven’ by others in their org (interview those people)?

Accountability

For internal operations this is probably the single biggest problem for companies. Almost every company feels they have a good handle on accountability – unfortunately, they are usually wrong. When things aren’t performing effectively it’s usually because no one is accountable for the performance.

A manufacturing company was looking at getting a new ERP system. The CEO had heard horror stories from various customers and was concerned about implementation.  

“What kinds of things go wrong during an implementation?” asked the CEO.

“Well, a major problem in many companies is that accountability is not well defined.”

“Oh, that’s not a problem here. We’re a very lean organization and everyone understands what they’re accountable for,” replied the CEO. “But, just out of interest, can you give me an example?”

“Well, although it might not apply here, companies that have problems with inventory often find that no one is responsible for inventory accuracy.”

“That’s not an issue for us. Dave, tell him who’s accountable for inventory accuracy.” said the CEO, nodding to his COO.

“No one,” replied the COO. “Maybe that’s why we have a $14 million inventory discrepancy.”

Effective accountability covers ownership, span of control, performance measurements and your reward/ recognition system.

 

Ted Margison is a Senior LCS Consultant and has over 30 years experience in operations management and process improvement. Ted worked for Ernst & Young in their manufacturing & distribution practice and then headed up one of PriceWaterhouse’s manufacturing & distribution practices on the west coast. You can contact Ted at ted@lighthouseconsulting.com or call him at 310-453-6556, ext. 422.

Permission is needed from Lighthouse Consulting Services, LLC to reproduce any portion provided in this article. © 2014
If you would like additional information on this topic or others, please contact your Human Resources department or Lighthouse Consulting Services LLC, 3130 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 550, Santa Monica, CA 90403, (310) 453-6556, dana@lighthouseconsulting.com & our website: www.lighthouseconsulting.com

Lighthouse Consulting Services, LLC provides a variety of services, including in-depth work style assessments for new hires & staff development, team building, interpersonal & communication training, career guidance & transition, conflict management, 360s, workshops, and executive & employee coaching. Other areas of expertise: Executive on boarding for success, leadership training for the 21st century, exploring global options for expanding your business, sales and customer service training and operational productivity improvement.
To order the books, “Cracking the Personality Code” and “Cracking the Business Code” please go to www.lighthouseconsulting.com.

Planning For The Upcoming Recession!

By Larry Cassidy, Ted Margison, Paul David Walker

[dropcaps type=”circle” color=”” background=””]S[/dropcaps]pring time is upon us and it is time for house cleaning and planning. Many of you are familiar with the economists, Alan and Brian Beaulieu and how their economic forecasting helped in preparing for the last recession as well as for the financial impact that it had on most companies and individuals. They have presented another opportunity for us to be aware of in the coming future. They are projecting that sometime between the later part of 2013, we will be heading into another much milder recession that will continue through 2014.

We thought that we’d share some ideas from our Lighthouse Consulting team, so that you and your organization can begin to prepare and take advantage of the opportunities that could be just around the corner. We’re going to focus in on management, leadership and operations:

Management – Larry Cassidy

I would start with the following caution: whenever times get even a little better, it is an invitation for overhead creep. Put another way, a little bit of success invites a lot of overhead.man looking at maps Given that truth, and the fact that many businesses have experienced at least somewhat better times, it is likely time to grab the pruning shears.

  1. First, I suggest this process: go through every expense on your P&L, and ask the following questions: “Does this expense truly touch our customer and/or make his/her experience better? If not, is it at least critical to our future success?” Prune any expense which does not meet one or both tests.
  2. Second, take a stethoscope to your balance sheet. Get rid of bad inventory (it is rarely a “too much” thing, usually a “wrong stuff” thing). Your first loss is your best loss. Move it! Then get on and stay on your receivables. Both need to come down and cash needs to go up.
  3. Third, be sure you have top people in key positions. You will ask more out of the team in tougher times, so be sure you have quality and you trust the players. Then have the team cross-train all hands. Every employee should be able to do at least one back-up job adequately. This creates flexibility and can reduce headcount.
  4. Finally, make sure your critical systems are operating smoothly. The last thing you will want to do is have to plug “holes” with bodies.

Leadership – Paul David Walker

Take Market Share Now

hands holding up bizpeopleDuring a recession relationship is more important than ever, because it is relationships that will hold you, your customers and vendors together.

Together, during a recession, you can increase market share easier than increasing profits. If you, your customers, and vendors survive and / or thrive during weak demand, you will rise together as demand increases, which it always does. Here is how you do this.

Recession Value Proposition

Adjust your value proposition to fit the new economic circumstances, and train all people who interact with customers to implant this in the minds of customers. For those of you who are in the B to B space, at some point in time your customer will be in a meeting with corporate leaders asking, “What vendors can you eliminate? How can we reduce our costs and be more appealing to our customers?” At that time you want the voice in the back of your customer’s head to be saying that your company is a keeper for the reasons you have implanted. Likewise, if you sell to the consumer, you want the consumer thinking that your products will help them live better in this economy. The consumer advertising, packaging and PR should be positioning your brand as the answer. Your new value proposition should to targeted and ever present.

One of my B to B customers mission is to provide “Engineered Solutions” that improve the efficiency of their client’s factories. They explain, “We will work with flexibility and expertise.” They are making sure all their customers have this on the top of their minds. Another client, who sells to consumers, vision statement is: “Better Products … Better Life.” They are sure their advertising drives home how their products provide twice the value at lower prices. They are working on getting this message into the scripts of their customer service teams around the world. The most successful businesses during a recession implant their new value proposition at every contact with customers. This makes the relationship strong, and creates hesitation before a customer changes brands. That relationship will benefit all as the tide rises.

Extend Your Team

Make it clear to your vendors and customers, that we are all in the same boat floating on a low tide of demand, and that we must work together for mutual success. Continuously reach out to customers to understand their changing needs and wants and make temporary deals with the customers and vendors that will carry all through changing economic dynamics. If your customer needs a price break, ask your vendors to reduce their prices. If they need to reduce their inventories, get your vendors to help you create just-in-time inventory programs. Find out what your customers and vendors need to help their business prosper, and have the flexibility to change your products or services to fit. Do not get stuck in business as usual. Business as usual will be a death sentence. Build a community of strong relationships with your customers and vendors.

Talk about your mutual missions and synchronize them so all can succeed during economic change. Make it clear to all that you and your company are committed to mutual success. Let them see and feel your commitment to mutual success.

Attack Weak Competitors

As your competitors fail to adapt to the changes in the wants and needs of the market place, their customers will be moving. Be sure they move to you. Conduct research to determine your competitor’s weaknesses and focus on acquiring their customers, who will be frustrated with those weaknesses. If your value proposition is right, and being communicated in the market place at every point of contact, they will come to you. The most venerable competitors have the following weaknesses:

  1. Overextended credit
  2. Old technology
  3. Cash flow problems
  4. Poor customer service
  5. Inability to adjust prices
  6. Lack of flexibility

Once you understand the nature of the weaknesses of your competitors, select the three weakest and develop a strategy to acquire their customers.

Position yourself as the life raft for the customers tied to a sinking ship. People in corporations tend to change at a slower rate than people in the market. Be ahead of the wave of change and find competitors who are not. Business has always been driven by relationship and trust. During high demand it may not be as important because of the lack of supply for surging demand.

During economic and social change when demand is falling, relationship and trust are even more important.

If you have ridden the wave of demand, maximized your profits and weakened your relationships, it is past time to change, but never too late. Do not hesitate, find and communicate the correct value proposition for your business, extend your team to include customers and vendors, and rescue customers from the sinking ships of your competitors.

Operations – Ted Margison

Interestingly, the key things a company should do in preparing for a downturn are often the same things they should do in preparing for an upturn.

  1. Streamline and standardize processes; you will need to be able to do more with less. Automate as much as possible in order to respond more quickly to changing bizpeople buildingdemands.
  2. Design processes for flexibility and adaptability. As customers change to accommodate changes in their marketplace the transaction size will often vary dramatically from what you have been used to. As well, new types of demand can arise as companies look for different ways to provide value to their customers, which might result in new types of demands for your business. You should be doing the same by looking for new types of opportunities.
  3. Understand the decision-making processes that drive demand for your product or services. Better visibility on what drives customer demand means better predictability for you. Do this with each of your key customers in particular. Then work with them to make sure you can respond to their changing needs in a timely and cost-effective manner.

Final Thoughts

According to Dana Borowka, CEO of Lighthouse Consulting Services LLC www.lighthouseconsulting.com and author of Cracking the Personality Code, hiring the right people is key to future growth. If you would like additional information on raising the hiring bar, please click here to see an article on this subject: Cracking The Personality Code: Hire Right The First Time.

In our blog, we are sharing more specific ideas in these various areas. If you have any specific questions, please feel free to contact any of our consultants. Also, if you have additional topics that you’d like us to address either in our Keeping On Track publications or Open Line monthly web conferences, please let us know. We look forward to hearing from you.

Permission is needed from Lighthouse Consulting Services to reproduce any portion provided in this article. © 2014

If you would like additional information on this topic or others, please contact your Human Resources department or Lighthouse Consulting Services LLC, 3130 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 550, Santa Monica, CA 90403, (310) 453-6556, dana@lighthouseconsulting.com & our website: www.lighthouseconsulting.com.

Lighthouse Consulting Services, LLC provides a variety of services, including in-depth work style assessments for new hires & staff development, team building, interpersonal & communication training, career guidance & transition, conflict management, workshops, and executive & employee coaching. To order the books, Cracking the Personality Code and Cracking the Business Code, please go to www.lighthouseconsulting.com.