No need for strategy in a downturn
It’s been a tough time for the Life Sciences (and other) sectors in 2024.? Uncertainty around the future and a slowdown in investment has meant that the sector has stuttered in its growth, and we are in a period of consolidation awaiting (and hoping for) better times.? Organizations are downsizing and the job market is not as buoyant as it was.? The Leading for Change questionnaire* indicates that we are not employing key success factors in leading change like “involve people” and “have a facilitator’ as often as we did three years ago.
?
Recently, Dianne Lee Jonathan Betts Elisabeth (Liz) Mortimer-Cassen and Jackie Macritchie shared their experiences and views on how to manage through tough times and discussed why strategy is important.? How can we effectively manage through tough times?
?
1.???? Use your strategy as a basis for your short-term decisions. If you make decisions based on the short term, it’s going to be harder when the environment changes to accelerate to your long-term goals.? You may even make decisions that are detrimental for long term success.? For example, sometimes we need to invest in revenue generating initiatives so that we can quickly take advantage of changing circumstances rather than reduce.? We may need to refocus and make tough decisions about our product or service lines so that our core business can remain strong.
2.??? Focus on the measures that drive the business.? Have a balanced scorecard that is strategic and looks at all aspects of your business.? Financial measures like revenue and profitability are lagging indicators, whereas looking at the quality of your delivery, the composition of your offering and the number of customer touchpoints together with people development measures can indicate your future financial success.
3.??? Identify if you were distracted during times of growth.? In good times we often focus on growth for its own sake.? This can lead to activities that are not core to the strategy for the long term.? Take a hard look at the growth that has happened and examine if this is core to your business.? This may be an opportunity to cut back without harming your main business
4.??? Actively monitor your environment. Look for triggers that you need to respond to.? Engage the organization in a balanced way? in doing this.? What is keeping everyone up at night?? What is getting everyone up in the morning?
领英推荐
5.??? Choose how to change. In growth phases you can engage people easily, however there is more sensitivity when you are downsizing.? An approach that involves open and honest communication of the reasons for change and describing the principles that are being adopted are key components.? Most critical is listening to emotional reactions so that people still feel like their voice is being heard. As we shared in a previous post people managers capability to do this is important.
6.??? Consider where you are cutting back.? Typically, external spend is one of the first areas to be looked at. Permanent employees are protected vs contract staff or consultants.? This is often both appropriate and challenging. For example, if you need to make change on a one-off basis then a neutral external resource may be critical.
7.???? Look at where people are spending their time.? Is this aligned with your day to day needs and your future strategy?? Consider the value of timesheets.? A post on this is coming next!
?
How are you finding the business environment currently?? What tactics are you using now and have used in the past to navigate through?
?
*The Leading for Change questionnaire complements my book “Leading for Change – how to thrive during uncertain times” People in my network have been using it since 2021 to reflect on which success factors they use to increase their chances of leading change effectively.? The link is below if you would like to get your own self-assessment.
?
Thanks for sharing Kathryn and good to see the additional thoughts from Nathalie and ?? Samantha Hurley. This was definite one of our more interesting discussions. At times it is not easy and you are continually striking the balance of dealing with the here and now whilst ensuring you are heading in the right direction and the future is secure. Involving teams on the journey I agree is essential. Ultimately, you need to make the best decisions you can with the information and foresight you have and then take action and see things through. Avoiding decisions or delaying actions rarely makes things better
Bringing 'Blue4' tools and services to Organisations around the world, enabling Leaders to create a 'climate' in which motivated, happier, healthier teams achieve outstanding performance!
3 个月Great to see the vWall word cloud Kathryn Simpson and thanks for the mentio. I still think vwall is simple and flexible. I've used it in community engagement in recent years to great effect. As you note though it is an enabling tool and still needs a facilitator to get best value from it.
Commercial Leader_Drug Development_CMC_CDMO_Executive MBA (WBS)_Strategic Board Advisor_Mentor
3 个月Thank you Kathryn for sharing. I'd add that involving your teams in setting/adapting the strategy while leaving room for flexibility are key even more so in a VUCA world. The diversity of thoughts/perspective provided by those facing all aspects of the business and directly involved with our customers is invaluable to support these strategic decisions.
CEO at 25eight | Business training with Impact | B Corp Certified | Driving fast leadership skills acquisition and business transformation for SMEs at scale through great methodology & smart technology
3 个月This is really insightful and particularly useful at this time. In Australia, there is a general sense of slow growth and conservatism in spending I would say. There has also been an increase in the number of business closures. I think many business leaders go into flight or fight mode and are reactive when things change, especially market changes, however, it’s so important to be proactive during these times. It’s that balance between the short term and long term, and keeping focused on your strategic goals, as the tips recommend. Perhaps, I would also add a tip with regards to understanding changing customer need and recommend an exercise that helps to identify how the needs are changing and what customers in the current and potential future may find the most value within your industry. This could ensure we can proactively meet those needs and remain customer centred and adaptive rather than stuck in our ways - which is definitely harder to do for larger enterprises but I’ve seen great examples of this strategic agility in smaller ones. This might link to the tip that you have provided that asks you to look further than revenue metrics, perhaps?
Leading for change - how to thrive during uncertain times
3 个月Sara Vandenberghe Renos Savva Amina Yesufu-Udechuku, PhD