Is Your Business in “Management By Crisis”?

Is your business in “management by crisis” mode?

Maybe you are not sure.  Sometimes this mode of operating becomes so familiar it can be experienced as “normal”.  So here are a few clues.  You might be in “management by crisis” if you (and your staff):

• Spend most of your time “putting out fires”
• Find yourselves at the same place after passages of time and feel like you are treading water, rather than making any real progress
• Are in meetings a LOT, talking about the same things over and over, without solutions or satisfactory outcomes
• Keep meaning to get around to strategic plan development; however never seem to have the time
• Feel stressed out most of the day and totally drained at close of business
• Find it hard to drag out of bed in the morning and dread going to work
• There is very little laughter in your workplace
• Employees either avoid each other or tend to argue when they are engaged
• The company has no business plan or strategic plan in place
• Or the plan is 5 plus years out of date
• Directs are an endless parade in and out of their supervisors’ offices, complaining, expressing frustration. . .
• . . .Or they don’t come to see their supervisors at all, and stew in silence

And what is the A #1 indicator your business might be operating in “Management By Crisis”?

The company is broke or in financial jeopardy.

If you recognize your business in the foregoing, you may be comforted by the fact that this is the default operating procedure for many companies.  Too many companies.  And it’s not because they are “bad” – it’s just that most businesses lack information on how to be proactive.  However this is not where you your business to live, because –

P.S. crisis is expensive.

When potential clients come to me with a company in crisis, I can guarantee the price tag for the “fix” will be at least double — if not triple or more – what it would have been if they had contracted for services in a pro-active mode.

And I am only talking about consultant’s fees!  “Management by Crisis” is extremely costly for companies in other significant ways, including:

• Increased health costs for employees who are stressed and becoming ill or having accidents, which leads to. . .
• Increased health leave (sick days)
• Decreased productivity, as employees struggle to keep up
•  Increased conflict among employees – which of course decreases productivity, as precious company time is wasted with employees unable to work together well
• Energy diverted into figuring out “financial band-aides” instead of productive revenue generating activities
• Missed opportunities for new business

I could go on and I am sure you can easily add to this list.  What’s important here is that your business makes a shift to “Pro-Active Management” and that this becomes your default operating mode.   Think about that for a moment.  What would it feel like if managing a crisis were something that you had to do only occasionally, rather than every day?  Do you feel a sense of relief just imagining it?

Time to make a change?  Some actions you can take right now to begin moving from “Management by Crisis” to “Pro-Active Management”:

• Be patient and breathe.  It took some time to create the current situation; it will take awhile to turn the ship around.
• Be hyper-vigilant for any action anyone in the company can take that is productive and pro-active, rather than re-active.
• Get help.  When you are immersed in putting out fires, it can be very difficult, if not impossible, to see a way out.  Get a coach, a strategic planning consultant, a business adviser.
•  Yes, this will require more cash out flow from your business.  And ask yourself a question:  if your business continues in “management by crisis” mode, how long do you think it will survive?  Weigh that answer against the cost of your investment in obtaining help. Chances are it will show up as a bargain; especially when you compare it with the possibility of closing the doors.
• Put your FULL attention on solutions, rather than problems.  In business, we tend to get what we focus upon.  If the majority of company time is devoted to looking at the problems and what is wrong, you will probably get more problems – they tend to be compelling in their own way. Practice a “solutions focus” at least once a day.  More and more productive ideas will begin to flow.
• Definitely – no question – absolutely – create the time to begin that strategic plan.  I am sure you have heard that age-old business wisdom:  “Those who fail to plan, plan to fail.”  It’s true.  In my experience the most successful companies are the ones that have a solid, current 5 to 10 year strategic plan in place, which allows them the flexibility to also respond to unanticipated market changes.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Get a Strategy!

We specialize in strategic development services for companies with a sustainability focus.
Click here to learn more!