This isn’t a college football blog, but we’d like to address the pain that Clemson and Carolina fans are feeling this week (you Dawg fans are a missed TN field goal away from sitting in the same misery).
We’re not concerned about the Xs and Os or the Jimmys and Joes, however. What we’re interested in – and what applies to you as a business owner – are the organizational issues that manifest themselves on the field. In fact, these strategic organizational issues mirror what often happens in the life of businesses.
Take Clemson, for example. Just a few years ago, they competed perennially for playoff spots and national championships. But any casual fan can see (and the results show) there has been a drop-off in performance. Now, we’re not qualified to criticize Coach Dabo, and don’t write back to us with your personal rants on the offensive line.
But it is not unusual for a highly successful organization to find itself in a plateau or decline, AND for that decline to happen seemingly “out of nowhere” and despite the best efforts of its leaders. Much has been written on this phenomenon, including the article “Why Good Companies Go Bad” by Donald Sull, among many others.
In plain language, we’d like to address WHY this happens and WHAT you can do to make sure you aren’t falling into the same trap.
Why Good Business Goes Bad…or Just Flatlines
First, these declines often occur in the aftermath of a significant change in the business environment. Remember Blockbuster? Their decline occurred in the wake of streaming video platforms popping up. They continued to work hard at the same pattern they’d always worked at, ignoring (or failing to catch up to) the massive shift in their industry.
But sometimes these significant changes aren’t external, but internal. Especially for SMBs, a valued employee (or a couple of key employees) leaving or retiring can unexpectedly lead to a crisis in which institutional knowledge and outside relationships are suddenly compromised.
Second, the reaction to these changes is to TRY HARDER and WHAT HAS WORKED FOR YOU IN THE PAST. Sull calls this “active inertia.” It’s not that the leadership is doing nothing. They might be working incredibly hard – longer hours than they’ve put in for years, with full attention and focus on the problems.
But what the leader has identified as a “core value” may have turned into what some business guru folks call a “core rigidity.” Instead of approaching the problem with flexibility and creativity, the problem is addressed with the same approach as you’ve always had. And when it doesn’t work, you try the same approach, just with more effort (and frustration).
To be clear, you MUST have repeatable, documented, effective processes that allow you to replicate successful parts of your business. But if trying to solve a NEW PROBLEM with OLD PROCESS isn’t working, it may be time to re-think the approach rather than simply “trying harder.”
Or maybe you simply had mis-identified what has brought you success. To oversimplify a bit, you thought it was your process and product that brought you success, but when a few key people leave, you find it was your personnel who were most important.
In any case, what used to work isn’t working, and maybe is even making the problem worse.
So what to do about this? If you feel like your business is stuck in a rut, consider some of the following:
Which to Change: Effort or Tactics
Is it a problem of effort or a problem of tactics? Most people think “if I just work harder at this, then success will follow.” That MAY be the case. Does this issue need more time, attention, and resources from you or your team? Or, are you dumping time, attention, and resources into solutions that are not working?
Evaluate Real Weaknesses and Strengths
What is the real weakness or chokepoint? What are my real strengths in this situation? These can be difficult to answer, but doing some self-analysis and creative thinking about the situation may be necessary. Maybe what you thought you were strengths aren’t actually the strengths that will help you here. Again, maybe you thought Process X was your core strength, but when Manger Y left, everything has suffered. Maybe the process isn’t as strong as you thought it was, and maybe some more attention needs to be paid to personnel.
Replicate and also Innovate
Where can I innovate? Where do I need to stick to tried-and-true? Again, these are hard questions. But implementing plans for small changes or experimenting with slight alternatives can be helpful. Innovation doesn’t necessarily mean changing all the old ways that got your business to where it is. It just means using wisdom about which solutions apply to which problems. It means understanding how your industry is changing, and adjusting your approach as needed.
Conclusion
Getting in an organizational “funk” isn’t unusual. Getting out can be harder. You’ll want to make sure you are attacking the problem with some wisdom. Applying the right solutions to the right problems can take time to assess and execute, but it is simply a natural part of business growth.