During my many years of professional experience I was constantly researching the roots for success or failure. I was poised to find out what it was in the end what made a difference. I am sure that is something every entrepreneur would like to know and there are lots of books out there dealing with different issues. When reading through many of those books and comparing it with my experience on a daily basis I felt that there was something important missing. Sure, probably all the more than obvious reasons are listed and even advice is given how to control that. Processes are recommended with step-by-step instructions on how to follow it and yet very often its just not working. So together with my partner we developed a system. Think about what you have already tried out and done, but are you satisfied with what you got? Or do you also feel that there must be something more to it? Here is a case study for you of a client of mine to illustrate what I mean: This entrepreneur was successfully running a midsize business in a rural environment outperforming competitors even during tougher economic times. He was presented with the opportunity to acquire a poor performing competitor three times the size of his business in a nearby city. First big mistake made: Being successful for so many years my client made the decision to just implement all his processes in place for the acquired business. He was absolutely sure that what worked in his business would work there as well. It didnt! Second big mistake made: In order to be in control what was going on he hired a General Manager who was pre-screened by the usual process. Since he knew him personally he was sure that it would work out. It didnt! Third big mistake made: Since he was too busy to be personally there and supervise the new business he decided that weekly meetings with the General Manager would do it! It didnt! Fourth big mistake made: Since he had already a proven system at his place on how to organize things and work with people, he didnt talk to the employees there asking for their input. His system failed. Result: Within three months he found the new business deep in the red numbers and he couldnt figure out what to do. So finally he asked for help, because he recognized that there was something, he just didnt know. When I presented my program to him and his leaders I asked them, if they had an idea how many different points I would observe at this place. The guesses were between 30 80 different points. Much to their surprise I told them that for business like this I would at least observe about 750 800 different points! These points are based on our personal findings during 26 years of professional experience based on a lot of research and interviewing people. It is something you will not find in the books. After having performed this state-of-the-company-review I could come up with a program for him on how to turn around quickly the business and he was able to do it within about four months! To make a long story short: It is not the one big point you might look for to change. It is rather the many little things often overlooked which make the difference. And it is not enough to find these many little disturbances; you must know and understand the meaning behind it! In the end it comes down to the Human Dimension and Caring Leadership which makes all the difference of the world. It requires entrepreneurs who are willing and eager to explore new ways of doing business admitting that they dont know it all. Walter H. Groth
Institute for Life and Career Transition |
