5 Greatest Threats Facing Companies today and what you can do to protect yourself and your team
As constant change beats down hard across the globe, leaders, managers and organisations are being forced to react and respond in new and more innovative ways to stay relevant and profitable.
The normal reaction is to do more, harder, louder, faster of the same old things we have been doing for the past years. So company’s typical strategy is to engage in rearranging, retrenching and extreme cost cutting. The problem with this is… it’s commercial suicide. It’s like riding-the-razor down to minus margins.
From our experience and extensive research into organisational effectiveness and rejuvenation, none of the above strategies are sustainable, smart or strategically intelligent. In fact they are counterproductive to building positive energy, engagement, and enabling greater performance in the workplace.
Do Fish know the live in Water?
One of the biggest challenges in companies right now, which is almost invisible, or ignored by management and leadership, is the organisational CULTURE. Which when you reflect that CULTURE EATS strategy, is somewhat irresponsible. So what is your culture REALL like? Does it support creating a truly happy, challenging and great place to work? Or are you like the fish, who are the last to be aware of the WATER they swim in.
5 Greatest Threats to business & leaders today
- 1. Pressure to Perform & Stress
The mantra “do more with less” seems to becoming the prevailing call from management and shareholders. The big problem with this is… Many people are working harder and harder and under ever increasing pressure to make more money for the few shareholders. What about the stake holders?
From our team building consulting research and assessments, it is very clear that stress levels are rising perilously. In most companies at least 50% of the people, not in leadership ranks, have chronic stress levels, far above the healthy norm, on a consistent basis. And people in management and leadership positions are even higher!
If you consider Bruce Lipton’s work in Biology of Belief, his research shows that 97% or more of all illness is induced and exacerbated by elevated stress levels. So as a conscious leader do you allow this or do you ignore this in the face of demands to keep on driving to make more money.
So slavery might very well be alive and well in business today. What kind of training, coaching or resources are you offer to support, educate and relax staff?
- 2. Competition Increasing – ZMOT
As global competition permeates the business landscape ever more each day via the digital tentacles of world wide web / internet, many leaders and managers are still fast asleep at the wheel and about to become acutely aware of how badly they have been duped by the boiled frog syndrome. Did I hear you claim… Not me!? Ok so here is your 1 question test to see if you are truly awake and alert. What is ZMOT?If you know and understand the profound impact of ZMOT, what are you doing to mitigate your risks and maintain or gain your competitive advantage?If you are like many leaders, you have no idea of the importance, impact and effectiveness of SOCIAL in your future. Reputation management, development and protection is becoming a strategic CORE business activity. Were your last discussions on Social Media educative, informative, enlightening or proactive? If you don’t understand the threat of ZMOT today, you could just wake up when it’s maybe too late to recover.
What are you doing to stay abreast of and leveraging the shifts and changes in the marketing, neuro-sales, digital spaces?
- 3. Conscious Customers & Vigilante’s
The balance of power in the business markets for many has shifted dramatically. With the advent of always on, always connected, anywhere, anytime your suppliers, customers, prospects and staff can unleash a verbal torpedo out into the digital world for minimal cost in either time, effort or resources. It’s instant and everywhere in seconds. And almost irrevocable!Word of Mouth Prevails – LoudlyConsumers are more conscious in their choices and who they support. Are you going GREEN? Are you a fair employer? Do you care for the planets, society, community, staff, animals … or whatever their primary value hierarchy dictates?
Do you know what your customers values hierarchies are? How are you mapping your activities, promo’s marketing and relationships to best leverage their relationships.
Research shows that a large percentage of people trust their friends word of mouth referrals way better than your over-hyped marketing promises. They will poll their friends, facebook contacts, etc before deciding.
Daily, your “shouting–at-them” marketing is having less and less impact and it’s influence is steadily dropping in credibility.
How are you building better and more powerful / important relationships? How are you building, leveraging and protecting your reputation?
- 4. Leadership – Greedership – Bleedership
In the drive for profits many leaders are becoming greeders and bleeders.- A true Leader understand that business is about more than the numbers, like life is more than just about breathing oxygen. They balance the mechanism of business for people and profit. They serve as guides, mentors, motivators, inspirers and enablers of meaning, achievements and money. They work for the greater good of everyone They are powerful people.
- b. A Greeder drives for the numbers only, in spite of the human impact or cost – Selfish, self-centered and unconscious. Much like accountants focus solely on the NUMBERS and the bottom line, ignoring the human element aspects.Greeders only worry about serving themselves and the shareholders. Narcissistic, Low self-confidence or no confidence in bringing a higher consciousness to their team and organisation. Usually low EQ people live here.
- c. A Bleeder is the lowest level. Bleeders drive for the numbers with force. They use force, manipulation, coercion to get people to deliver on the numbers. Through their “bad tempers”, They resort to threatening, screaming, shouting – all intimidating and bullying tactics to get their staff to perform to their expectations and demands.They are cold, callous and uncaring and insentient. The only thing that matters is their image, their rules and their results. They can be very Narcissistic, Self-important and arrogant. Sometime they behave like an animal.
They may deliver results – but at what cost and impact… on human life around them and the organisational culture. Usually NO EQ people live here. Not to be considered viable leadership material.
Are you doing 360 degree assessment to avert leadership deception/ denial and culture assessments to ensure you truly understand the prevailing environment?
- 5. In Search of Talent
Talented, inspired, happy, challenged and energised staff are vitally important if an organisation is going to thrive and be sustainable. So the core challenges managers face are:
- a. Firstly to be ATTRACTIVE as an employer. What’s your reputation and culture like? Would your staff recommend for their best friend to come and work at your organisation? What’s the prevailing culture like? Do you have any real influence on the new hires, or does culture infect them first?
- b. GROWTH and progress are important to the newer generations coming into your workplace. With such generational diversity, managers and business strategy need to be reoriented to create a place where people have greater autonomy, involvement, mastery and meaning.The older generations might have worked like slaves, but the newer generations are a lot different. If you are going to keep them you are going to have to shift how you manage, motivate, inspire, grow, engage and remunerate them.
- c. RETENTION of your talent is vital if you are going to maintain your competitive advantage. Everyone is looking for potent talent to leverage and grow their business.The challenge is that there is so much competition for talent from every corner of business. Add to that the fact that job-hunting via the internet has exploded to the point that traditional placement services have noticed the drop in demand for their services. Online job sources make scanning for new opportunities a snap.
Staff also see the market offerings, which, if compared to their own, very often creates a strong undercurrent of dissatisfaction or feeling unappreciated and thus highly disengaged.
Is Business Failing its Higher Calling?
It’s no wonder, when you see Gallups’ research on workplace engagement levels to see dismal levels of engagement and massive levels of disengagement and detachment from the purely money oriented organisational vision and values.
We also see from our organisational optimisation research and assessments that Happiness, pride, trust and appreciation levels are also bleakly low in most companies. And many leaders just don’t seem to see this truth!
Consciousness has shifted. Connecting and communicating has shifted. The world is shifting in so many dimensions… But most Businesses have not… yet. The future is here today already. It’s just not spread evenly around right now.
Ready to Shift?
So what would it take for your business to shift? For it to be more than a machine to make money for a few. Imagine for a moment what kind of GREATER value and impact your business system could have for stakeholders. What decision could you make, now, that would transform the value, energy, culture and impact your organisation has on the world, community, company, staff and their families.
If business is just a cold hearted machine to make money for a few already wealthy, lucky shareholders, then relevancy and legacy is in question if you are a conscious caring leader.
What’s your legacy?
Research reveals that after a lifetime of working, at 65, the majority of people will struggle financially, and with their health, to maintain any reasonable quality of life until they die, maybe 30 years later. Most, more than 50% will eat dog or cat food to survive…
There are many things we can do as true leaders, to guide the actions, beliefs, behaviors and results of our staff, who have entrusted their futures to us.
The question is… will you betray them with the sole drive for numbers like the Greeders and the Bleeders selfishly looking after their own and their “bosses” butts. Or will you step up as a true leader, who transforms, inspires, empowers and creates a greater quality of life for all who are impacted by your choices, values and decisions.
Risk Mitigation requires Courageous leadership
If you are to intelligently address the prevailing threats with conscious, caring, sustainable solutions. It will require that you do something else other than shouting louder, making staff work harder, expecting faster results as in the past. Something must shift…. And it begins with your heart… if you have one that you listen to, that is.
Namaste’
Tony Dovale guides and supports staff, teams, managers and leaders to gain a competitive advantage by developing and leveraging their optimum performance to increase performance, productivity, sales, service, engagement, retention and results – through conscious leadership.
www.teambuilding1.co.za
Alchemist@coachfree.com
0834476300