PART I: INTRODUCTION - FIRST PRINCIPLES OF DEALING WITH ECONOMIC CONTRACTIONS - WILLIAM EASTMAN

The following is not a story nor a prescription, it is a focus  on changing the mindset of business owners about their role in the company.

The right solution will not solve anything because the problem is outlook – how the owner perceives their role. If the owner cannot grow beyond themselves, the business will only be as successful as their unique mix of competencies and character takes them.

Summary
The challenge of Friday Shows is for you as the business owner to stop being just a technician in the firm. You will need to balance two things at once: what is happening and how is it being accomplished.

The WHAT are the specific areas of focus like finance, operations, customers, and people  that is being built or improved..

The HOW is how you managing the change from today in those 4 areas to where you need to take the business. Every Friday we start with the HOW.

Objective
Given a contracting economy with diminishing business opportunities and inflation devaluing the currency, you will generate new solutions to built an operation that can deal with current challenges.

EPISODE 17: WHAT IS A "BURNING PLATFORM"?A "burning platform" is a term used to describe an extremely urgent or compelling business situation in order to convey, in the strongest terms, the need for change. Using this process, you can get people’s attention and build awareness of the need for change very quickly. The only caveat is that not every change can have a burning platform. If this were to become the norm, employees may begin to ignore the message (not everything can be an emergency). As the old story goes, you do not want to be caught “crying wolf” for every change, in case you find yourself really faced by a wolf and no one responds to your call.

EPISODE 18: HOW TO CREATE A BURNING PLATFORM

• Show how staying where you are is not an option, and that doing nothing will result in disaster. Look for a crisis that you can highlight. They are often lurking nearby, forlorn and unnoticed. You can also engineer your own crisis that forces change. Be careful not to disrespect the past.
• Make sure the platform you choose is real, credible, and significant. — Focus on specific threats or risks to your business that cannot be dealt with or averted using existing processes, practices, or people (e.g., a specific safety risk that if unmanaged would sink the company, or a productivity gap that is 40% worse than your top competitor, is better than a repeated message that sales are down, costs are up, and profits are hurting).
• Make sure you offer a “roadmap” or “pathway” for success that is achievable (assuming one exists)– Everyone has heard the adage “accept the things you cannot change…change the things you can …and have the wisdom to know the difference.” There are two implications of this in creating your burning platform. First, there is nothing worse than a dismal scenario that has no way of being averted, as that is a sure path to apathy and hopelessness. Assuming there is one (if there is not, you may want to think about jumping ship), make sure that you help your staff see it.  None of us are capable of changing the “end of days” scenario described above (should it prove out), but we can change our behaviors, approach to relationships, and other facets of our life.
• The “burning platform” doesn’t always have to be apocalyptic in nature. — You can be just as successful defining a future scenario that might open possibilities for you or your organization to “break out” or leapfrog competitors. Our visit to the moon was a good example of where we used external forces and opportunities to inspire a very positive outcome.
• A “compelling narrative” is essential. Almost every good example of a “burning platform” tactic being successful begins with the ability of a leader to clearly and compellingly state the case for change. At its basic level, this is the ability to be a good storyteller, in a way that vividly paints the picture of the crisis at hand, shows the vision for success, and clearly identifies what must change, all while respecting the history and past successes of the organization.

EPISODE 19: IS IT WORKING?

• Track and report progress/establish consequences — If you do a good job of identifying a real and credible threat to the business, and articulating a pathway to averting or navigating the risk, then you should be able to establish some good metrics for reporting success. Think of these as milestones or way-points on your journey. Report these frequently so that they enable critical course corrections. You’ll want to make sure you hold yourself and those on your team accountable. Again, if you’ve done a good job of defining the threats, risks, and path for success, then improvement in the business should allow for ample rewarding of those who contributed the most.
• Don’t overuse the tactic. — There is nothing worse than a leader who constantly “cries wolf”. All of us have had bosses who live in a constant narrative of “the sky is falling.” They repeatedly send the same message over and over again, and when subordinates stop listening, they ascribe it to their staff “simply “not getting it”, when in fact what has happened is that they have become so “numb” to the message that it has the reverse effect, i.e., of creating complacency.

EPISODE 20: HOW TO RECESSION PROOF YOUR BUSINESS

1. Get Your Financial House in Order - Next Show: Show & Chapter 5 - Basics of Financial Reporting
2. Attack Costs - Next Show: Show & Chapter 6 - Create a Cash Reserve from Reducing Costs
3. Making Money in an Economic Downturn: Show & Chapter 7 - Data Based Relationships
4. Recession Proofing HR: Show & Chapter 8 - Standard Operating Procedures

How to apply today's show to your business:

• Leave Comments for the show
• Facebook Private Group - Build My Business Today
• LinkedIn Private Group - IBGR Growth Community
• Download the APP