Strategies

Strategies for Managing Directors

Nothing Seems To Be The Same Anymore Kim Radok October, 2015

Today I suspect there are business owners or managers which are either worried sick about the future or so busy with work, they haven't got time to think. Well, you will not be on your own.

The sharemarket appears to be going down, former business icons are mired in controversy and fraud, the banks don't want to lend and customers don't want to pay. The doom merchants are out and about, along with the media, and having a field day. So where do you turn?

Your first action is to take a deep breath because there will always be changes in the business community which may rattle your thinking. So take that deep breath and compose yourself before reflecting on how you and your business can survive and grow in these turbulent times.

Secondly, quietly start reflecting, talking with friends and /or mentors and studying what is going on the business media. In truth, there is probably little you can do overnight to protect your business. It is taking the time to calmly review and identify what are the real issues for your particular business which will lead you to make better decisions than if your rush the process.

Business history is littered with those attempts to make changes quickly which failed. In essence, as the old saying implies, "they threw the baby out with the bathwater." In such circumstance, essential staff were retrenched, customers and suppliers were alienated, cashflow was compromised, and reputations lost.

A far more rational approach is to review your business and identify what changes are required. Also question whether these changes all have to be made at once. The answer will usually be no. If changes are required that quickly, your business may be in a terminal condition anyway. In such circumstances, you may only be throwing good money after bad to keep going.

Moving more slowly allows you to work in a controlled manner with your suppliers, customers and employees, and equally important, with your bank and /or investors. However, sometimes it is best to leave the bank in the dark, particularly if your business can pay all their bills as they fall due. Banks have a nasty history of misinterpreting business intentions and financials. Instead of working with their business clients, they take the opposite tack by appointing administrators and killing off the business.

In conclusion, change is always constant. What is particularly unsettling at the moment, is that we are learning the banks are no longer our friends despite their slick advertising. Our business icons which we trusted, seemed to be mired in controversy. Is it any wonder therefore, we are so disappointed and disillusioned that at times we feel it is all too much!

Unfortunately for those business people who thought business would be so easy, nothing seems to be further from the truth. The reality is: this is the real business world.

Your best strategy in the short-term is not to panic. The day you start to panic and or allow others to dictate how you run your business, is the day you start to lose your business. If what you do is working for you in the short-term, stay with it as there are no guarantees on what works. However, you also need to be vigilant and keep an eye on what is happening around you to stay viable in to the future.

If you would like help in understanding how to move forward in these unsettling times, contact Kim Radok at kim@creditmatters.com.au

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