Business Improvement Series
“I help improve people, processes
and products – in that order!” As a CMC, I use this tagline as a sales pitch to
prospective clients. Some might be impressed with it while some might question
the underlying meaning. So, I’m about to disclose the profound philosophy
behind my tagline. It is an outcome of my two decades of experience having
served over two hundred clients across geographies and industry sectors.
Any business is always a “going
concern”, irrespective of its trajectory or history. In this context,
organizational development (OD) is of prime concern which is the pars virilis of any leader. There are
several OD theories like systems theory, human relations theory, action
research theory, etc. where a specific framework is adopted to understand and
implement organizational growth. However, there is none to my knowledge that
addresses OD problems in a holistic manner. As mentioned earlier that any
business is a going concern and will continue to operate as long as there is
sufficient cash-flow; it is imperative that it must also work on its “Brand
Value” and “Goodwill” (BV&G); in order to grow. Top leaders are very well
aware that long-term sustainability depends on BV&G and not just on
cash-flow whether it is generated via investors or customers. A push-pull
strategy (fundraising & valuation to sales strategy & customer
acquisition) on its own can only elongate the survival but can never take you
to the next level. For example, we all are aware of a major e-commerce startup
that is running on losses since its inception but still is heavily backed by
investors. In stark contrast, we also have a few other startups that have been
star performers since over a decade with very pleasant returns to its
shareholders including investors and customers. With this background, we can
now have a look at the below image:
Figure 1: MPP
Overview
Figure 2: MoneyBag (generated via hotpot.ai)
The “Moneybag Perception” if
ignored for certain duration; will certainly have a negative impact on the
BV&G of the organization. I have personally witnessed teams disbanded,
projects discontinued and organizations restructured for the wrong reasons
owing to the phenomena of MPP. When I discuss on business improvement with team
leads or even the top management; they usually come back with typical responses
like “we are currently having a very high attrition rate and unable to manage
our operations effectively”, “there’s too much competition in the market right
now hence our sales is taking a hit”, “we are dependent on our sole supplier
and hence we are losing orders”, “we are trying to raise funds but our
investors are not confident enough” so on and so forth. Each statement is
self-defined and there is a clear lack of understanding of the problem in most
cases. Most of the times, clients are only able to convey the “Reaction”
without being able to identify or define the problem accurately. So, how do we
tackle this type of a silent killer?
Any business organization exists
to deliver a product to the customer – be it a tangible product or a service.
Your product can only be as good as the process behind it and your processes
can only be as effective as the people who drive it. Now, here comes the
solution – you have to ensure that you have the right people driving efficient
processes that can deliver the right product. In our given example, it is the
leadership team that has to work on the sales team and the HR team in order to
bring about an organization-wide change. The management team then has to
redefine the policies that can revitalize the service delivery and work culture
of the organization. This will organically lead to continuous improvement of
your product and / or service both internally and externally. To be able to
achieve this you have to eliminate the MPP through a series of steps which can
be very specific to the needs of your organization. I must reiterate that most
organizations fail to make a turnaround because the leaders too are often a
victim of the MPP and are unable to “see beyond” the reaction viz. the
repercussions occurring due to total ignorance or complete denial of the
existence of MPP.
Figure 3: Tagline (image via picsart..com)
As we know that any business is a “going concern”, as consultants let us strive to make it into a “winning concern”. Let me conclude once again with my tagline – “I help improve people, processes and products – in that order!”
