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Jeff Colvin
Management Consultant & Founder of Link,
a Management Consulting Group
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"It's
not in the budget." "We've tightened our purse strings."
"No spending." "We're frozen." These quotes,
and many more like them, have been heard throughout the Silicon
Valley and beyond in the recent months. A once anticipated recession
recovery in "the next quarter" has been replaced with
a "maybe next year", or worse, "I don't know when."
The mentality has shifted from hopefulness to helplessness. This
is not where we live. Somebody has got to do something to begin
the thaw in this frozen state economy.
When in danger, animals often freeze, assuming what they believe
is a safe position. Then, when they have assessed the danger or
identified an escape route, they spring into action. Remaining frozen
for too long is not a safe strategy and is more likely to allow
the danger to become realized.
Scientists have experimented using freezing in a novel way to deal
with human maladies. The concept of cryonic suspension allows a
human being to be frozen when their condition is terminal until
a "cure" can be found.
But businesses can't stay frozen. The danger will not just go away,
nor will a magical remedy be found in the near future that can bring
them back to health. Expecting things to change without doing anything
differently is often used as the definition of insanity. So what
can you do differently to begin to melt your frozen business?
It is the back to school season and the time for all of us to learn
something new. The stimulus to doing something is based on learning
something first. One cliché, knowledge is power, can provide
a hedge against another cliche, risk versus reward. New learning
provides the opportunity for insight and application of changes
to your current business challenges. Suddenly the wait and see mentality
becomes, try it and see what happens.
When new information is conveyed to a cadre of change agents in
your company each individual will interpret and translate this learning
to their reality. This culmination of knowledge and the synergy
of those people that wish to make a change will be the catalyst
to a ramp up from our recession.
Calculated risks and considerable planning will help, but start
first with the critical mass of your business associates. Find others
who are tired of the stagnation, who want to move from a frozen,
rigid, and unmoving environment to a state of fluidity, motion,
and dynamic activity. The movement may cause some friction and generate
some heat, but with it comes the potential to start the thawing
process and get things moving again. Just do it, and do it with
new learning and new knowledge.
Management Tips: Learn & Do
Learn Something
- Explore, analyze, evaluate
- Take a class/workshop
- Do it with critical mass
Plan Something
- Consider the risk/rewards
- Ask the what ifs?
- Develop milestones/tasks
Do Something
- Break a paradigm
- Apply key learning
- Align stakeholders/change agents
- Do it with data
Manage Something
- Track and monitor
- Set up short interval successes
- Adjust as necessary
Jeff Colvin (Jcolvin@linkllc.com)
founded Link, a management
consulting group in 1997 whose mission is dedicated to the Systems,
Structures, and Behaviors that make people and companies successful.
Link's bottom line focus on process improvement is achieved through
the facilitation and training of cross-functional teams to address
key strategic goals. Learn more about Jeff
Colvin & Link...
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