Business Guide

How-To Guide for Business offers step-by-step instruction for preparing your workplace for a prosperous and sustainable future.

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TOMORROW’S WORKPLACE BUSINESS GUIDE

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What is A Business Strategy?

To Be Successful in Business, There Must be A Working Strategy

Stragetic outline is crucial to your business success.  It’s your roadmap, you chosen path, you contingency plans, your plan B, C and includes the “run for you life, every man for himself” plan. 

Once a company has a plan, the next step is to communicate your strategy in effective ways to your employees, partners, suppliers and customers.

The first place to start is to answer some of the following questions.  You might find this excercise helpful with a consultant or third party facilitator who will ask the next questions: why, what if, why not, and who says. 

Before you call the board of directors or your management team, begin working with these foundational strategic questions:

• Direction: where is the business trying to get to in the short and long term.
• Markets: Which markets does the business compete in and what kind of activities are involved in such markets?
• Advantage: How can the business perform better than the competition? What’s their competitive edge?
• Resources: What resources (skills, assets, finance, relationships, technical competence, and facilities) are required in order to be able to compete?
• Environment? What external, environmental factors affect the businesses’ ability to compete?
• Stakeholders: What are the values and expectations of those who have power in and around the business?

 Where do you run into roadblocks?  How have you communicated your strategy to the game players in your company?  Your comments are always welcome and others will benefit from your perspective.

Leading Change

Change Needs a Focus

The Real Deal on Change

There’s a popular belief that people resist change. In reality people don’t resist change–they resist being controlled. People have predictable concerns with change that once identifies, can help valued employers shape their plans to support individuals through business growth and all the changes that brings.

Here’s the inside information on six predictable concerns that can hinder successful change implementation. With this understanding, you’re set to shape your future with employees who are on board.

1. The first predictable concern is information concern. People want to know why the change is needed and what needs to be done. They don’t want to be sold on a plan, but they want to understand the necessity of change. Tell people what is it that you know, that if they knew, they will come to the same conclusion. If people know what change agents know, understand what they understand, they will be less resistant to change.
2.  The second concern is personal concern. People want to know how the change will impact or benefit them. Will they, as individuals, win or loose as a result of the change? If personal concerns are not addressed, people will be more resistant to adopt change, and they will tend to revert back to their old behaviors once they have the chance. 
3. The next concern is implementation concern – the logistics of the change. They can understand the business need, the personal benefits, but they need to know the steps in the change process and the available resources in case things won’t go as planned. It is important to provide them with information about who can answer questions and provide them with assistance in case things don’t go as smooth as anticipated.
4. Another concern is impact concern. People want to know how much of a difference the change will make. If the three previous concerns are successfully attended to, you won’t need to design details of the impact concern. Your people will provide you with feedback and tell you what’s making a difference.
5. The fifth concern is collaboration. More than just addressing everyone’s concerns, involve employees in the changing processes, and they will help you move the change forward.
6. The last concern is refinement. Source continuous feedback and make adjustments along the way. Make the journey together.

 If change leaders understand these concerns, they can anticipate and address them, and facilitate an informative change process. Concerns are not necessarily negative, they are merely unanswered questions.

The key to addressing those concerns is a high involvement strategy. You need to give people an opportunity to have their voice heard. If people are involved in decision making and they feel they contribute to the change, they will be less likely to resist it. “People who plan the battle, rarely battle the plan.”  Go forth.

 Gayle Hadfield; Nicoleta Ratiu

Post-Decision Strategies

This is a continuation of  Crunch Time – Making Decisions by Lynn Corrigan.

Tough Decisions are hard to make.  Once you have made them, and maybe taken a breath or two, you can evaluate your decision using some of the following criteria:

Once you’ve made the decision:

• Are you happy with this decision? Can you stand by it?
• If you had more time or information, would you change your mind?
• Was the decision making process thorough enough?
• Did you involve the people you needed to for a range of perspectives?

Plan communication about the decision to provide context and direction:

• Why you needed to make the decision
• What you hope the decision will accomplish for the business (the goal)
• The actions that need to be taken
• Responsibility for each action
• Deadlines for each action
• How you will monitor the progress of your action plan
• How and when you will report on progress
• How will you know that it worked?

What aspect of decision making do you find most challenging?  Start the discussion below under comments.

Submitted by: Lynn Corrigan- based on material written by: Making Decisions by Robert Heller; DK Publishing, Inc.

Crunch Time – Making Decisions

When times are uncertain, it’s harder to make decisions because accurate and complete information simply isn’t available.

Trends are unreliable and everyone becomes more cautious. Routine operations may be called into question, strategy that was solid six months ago has had its fundamental assumptions collapse, and normal operations have turned into a series of emergencies. Here are some guidelines.

What type of decision do you have to make?

• Routine: If this is normally a routine decision, and something you’ve decided before, what’s changed that makes you think your previous decision is no longer valid? Do the legwork to get to the bottom of your concern.
• Strategic: Is this a strategic decision? Does making the decision change your strategic plan or will it affect your business for two years or more?
• Emergency: Is this an emergency? Does the decision have to be made within a specific time frame or penalties or other unpleasant consequences will ensue? Does not deciding/not acting commit you to a course of action that you can’t change? Is it critical to the success of your business or the welfare of stakeholders?
• Operational: Does it affect operations and those carrying out operations?

Be systematic. Five questions to ask:

Are you addressing the right issues?

Do you have all the information you need?

Have you considered and compared alternatives?

Have you identified difficulties and checked feasibility?

Have you taken consequences into account?

Submitted by: Lynn Corrigan- based on material written by: Making Decisions by Robert Heller; DK Publishing, Inc.