Adapting to Changing Business Dynamics

Over the last two years we’ve seen most of our clients downsize and reduce spending. No surprise, the recession has touched everyone and creating a new balance between performance and profitability has been a tough one for us all, large and small…especially when it’s on the fly.  

Our business, like many others has experienced a major and likely permanent shift away from who we were, to who we are now. In our case, we have reduced our dependence on print and promotions and dramatically increased our capabilities in the areas of branding, web development and search engine marketing. As a result, we’ve added creative personnel and reduced administrative staff to match our new business patterns.

As painful as it is to let people go, the reality is business today cannot run fat and be sustainable. We need to be in tune with our company’s dynamics now … more than ever.

For those going through similar restructuring I would offer this encouragement. As tough as it is, I would suggest you may experience some unanticipated benefits in reducing your numbers in certain departments and possibly adding in others. In our case, we have achieved a better balance of work and resources. We have significantly improved our operation through streamlined communications and have very noticeably created a tighter, more unified team.

We need to summon the courage to take the steps we need to, yet fear the most. Slay the dragon that defends “no change” in your company by issuing this proclamation, “Starting today, the words I’ve always done it that way are officially banned from our company vocabulary!” It’s an interesting exercise that moved us forward many years ago.

In short, the more we listen, the more we learn. The more we learn, the more we grow. The quicker we accept the difficult steps we need to take, the more decisive we’ll be in making the next difficult decision. And each move we make in the right direction brings us closer to the leaders we need to be to ensure our company’s future success.