Does it take a crisis for change to occur quickly?
Sitting around the table at Christmas everyone talked about how quickly their companies responded to Covid-19. People were shocked and surprised and impressed all at once.
In general companies are slow to make a change but when faced with a crisis they were able to respond differently, quickly, decisively and achieve an outcome. Why does it take a crisis to make a change this quickly? In recent conversations on this topic with my network, many people believe that's just how it is and nothing you can do to fix it -- but I'm not convinced that is right and would love to explore this further.
Speed is a differentiator for companies:
• Speed to market competitive advantage
• Speed on process drives efficiency and productivity
• Speed to deliver product or service
• Speed to pivot when something goes wrong
So if speed is so important why don't companies focus on what is slowing them down and focus on increasing speed. There seems like a lot of benefits of speed.
The Four Factors…
Below are 4 key factors that slow companies down. Do any of these resonate for your company?
1. Process, policies and red tape.
Companies implement processes, policies and standards to ensure consistent application of outcomes across the company. This can create barriers for speed to get things done.
2. Unclear accountabilities.
It's not clear who is responsible or accountable for the activity. Many meetings but no one takes responsibility.
3. Unclear delegation.
It's not clear who can make the decision or it needs executive approval and therefore this is a formal process that takes time (6-8 weeks).
4. Leadership team unable to make a decision.
They go around in circles on the pros and cons before making a decision - sometimes a decision is ever made. Making no decision is worse than making the wrong decisions.
I don't believe there needs to be a crisis to speed up businesses.
Survival and competitive positioning rely on speed and therefore every company needs to consider how they increase their speed. Consider what is slowing your company down and what changes are required to speed it up and the benefits.
Reflect, reset and charge -- take charge in leading your company to increase the speed across all aspects. What are you waiting for? Time is money!!
Looking to reset your own strategic priorities and make some change in your organisation? Let us help.
Whiteark is not your average consulting firm, we have first-hand experience in delivering transformation programs for private equity and other organisations with a focus on people just as much as financial outcomes. We understand that execution is the hardest part, and so we roll our sleeves up and work with you to ensure we can deliver the required outcomes for the business. Our co-founders have a combined experience of over 50 years’ working as Executives in organisations delivering outcomes for shareholders. Reach out for a no obligation conversation on how we can help you. Contact us on whiteark@whiteark.com.au
