Business as Unusual

Making Your Business Smarter, Stronger, Safer in Challenging Times

By Mark Masson

There is no doubt we are all, together, living through unprecedented and challenging times. The path ahead lacks clarity; the implications uncertain. Nearly all business will struggle and many may unfortunately falter. 

In such times it may be tempting to make overly quick, reactionary decisions (usually related to cost cutting), and to do so more often with one’s gut than with supporting facts and data. While these decisions may feel valid in the moment, they often create more problems than they solve.

Yet one thing we know for certain is that there will be a recovery and businesses must position themselves for that reality. Leaders must navigate some very choppy waters to become Smarter, Stronger, and Safer – in the near future and for the longer term.  Those who do will emerge as more formidable leaders in their spaces.

First and most importantly, resolve to consult the facts, not your gut.  Leading in times of trouble is like leading in good times in at least one respect – decisions must be driven by data and a fact base. Despite market uncertainties, every organization is sitting on a treasure trove of data about its clients, operations, and their people. Leveraging this through sophisticated (not synonymous with slow) analytics allows you to see what your instincts cannot, to prepare for multiple scenarios, and to “game plan” how each action will impact the broader organization. This will require collecting data and information from systems that don’t often “talk” to one another and may mean leveraging the expertise of an external partner that can enable deeper, more actionable insights through machine learning and AI. Even in these cost-conscious times, doing so will generate far more reward than expense.

How can you seize this opportunity to become Smarter, Stronger, and Safer? 

Don’t forget—there will be a recovery. It is understandable and necessary to focus on immediate issues of cash flow, cost reduction, and quickly mitigating any potential client loss. Becoming Smarter, Stronger, and Safer is about attending to these imperatives smartly, in a way that preserves and improves your existing business while simultaneously positioning you for longer-term recovery (and likely for new ways of working that the situation has quickly necessitated).

Getting SMARTER: Focus acutely on identifying at-risk clients and their specific needs, and use this opportunity to clear out unnecessary expenditures, ways of working that have become too bespoke, and distracting activities and initiatives that haven’t shown enough value-add. Additional efforts and costs are natural as businesses evolve, grow, and innovate. Most simply continue to add to them over time without taking a hard look at what is really adding value. Now is the time to do just that.

Getting STRONGER: While cutting costs and zeroing in on core imperatives is critical at the outset of a challenging time, successful organizations will have leaders that seize the time to transform business operations, enhance processes, and form strategic external relationships. In normal times, many such initiatives are deprioritized as they can seem like too high a hill to climb. And while a crisis may not seem a good time to take on a big project, it may be the perfect time. In fact, with a stronger remit and buy-in from the organization for fast and significant change, these projects can take fewer resources than in normal times and garner quicker, lasting support for necessary changes. Frame the message about the need for transformation on cost reduction, ease of operation, and business continuity – all will be improved. In reality, though, tackling cumbersome and nagging issues is the kind of business transformation you need to come out the other side of this crisis stronger.

Getting SAFER: Install the safety net and security backbone you require given the tectonic shift in ways of working, supply chain disruptions, and personal concerns your workforce have made immediately tangible in just a couple of short weeks. The flurry of activity to adjust to a new normal (which will not be as temporary as initially hoped) will inevitably continue to surface new challenges of stability and security. For instance, just voluminous amounts of data being accessed consistently in remote environments is certain to challenge even the most buttoned-up IT organizations. These risks will come in varied forms and places beyond IT - data, supply chain, talent, finances. Consider the question: How does each change we are considering in trying to get smarter and stronger, put us at more or different risk, and how can we protect against that? 

Getting smarter will only get you so far without also becoming stronger and safer. Getting through “today” is critical, but successfully positioning for “tomorrow” is of equal importance. Key learnings from past crises should inform our decisions in the current one. Deep, across-the-board talent cuts during the 2008-09 economic downturn hampered business for many years afterward. Coming out of this time strong requires data-driven decision making and bold leadership that calms the organization when taking decisive action in the near term while still having the capacity and foresight to lay the groundwork for the future. Take the opportunity to tackle issues you couldn’t before, making quick but also smart decisions that ensure your organization’s success and indeed leadership in the near and longer term.

About the author:

Axiom Consulting Partners' Mark Masson is a highly-experienced adviser and partner to senior leaders, primarily at professional service firms. He serves senior leaders of large law, accounting, consulting and financial services firms on a range of topics to create value by: discovering new pathways to growth, increasing go-to-market effectiveness, maximizing return on the service and talent portfolio, and enabling effective operational execution. Mark’s work blends the nuance and experience of firm and change leadership with cutting-edge business analytics.

Thoughts on this article? I would enjoy hearing from you and be happy to answer any additional questions:

mmasson@axiomcp.com