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Playing Not to Lose
What happens when you move into the position of "Playing Not to Lose"?
Cutting Business Expenses:
How skillful and strategic were you in making the necessary business expense reductions? Did you accurately calculate the risks associated with the reductions?
Cost reductions have been needed, but the question remains:
How much is too much?
Many leaders have allowed panic and fear to take control of the wheel. Too many times we hear versions of this philosophy from industry owners and leaders, "We are hunkering down in survival mode until this economic storm passes." The result to this behavior often resonates you under-value your team and customers.
Selling in the current environment is more difficult and the art of relationship selling takes much more time, talent, and resources than previous years. Yet so often those individuals working to build new selling opportunities are saddled with more operational and logistical tasks, with limited expenses to care for the customers, all in the name of cost reductions.
How can your team increase sales and provide the level of customer service you and your customers expect if they lack the resources to do so?
Reducing Staff:
Did you analyze the full range of potential within each individual on your team to determine how they could contribute?
There are professionals, who through their actions, choose not to be successful and work their way out of a contributing role within their organization.
But there are many times we see leaders making reductions and changes to their team without asking the professional how they would like to contribute to the success of the team. This management style, inflexible and lacking creative problem solving, has produced great losses for many companies and individuals.
What questions have you asked to identify which team members desire to be part of contributing to the success? And what steps have you taken to implement a new direction, redirect and motivate your existing team to fully utilize their skills and desire to contribute?
Limiting Team and Personal Development and Education:
The right employee training, development and education, at the right time, provides big payoffs for the employer in increased productivity, knowledge, loyalty, and contribution, which brings a considerable return on your investment. Yet, many companies cut these programs first. The more talented, capable and skilled a professional is the greater the economic rewards for their company. People's careers, like companies, are either growing or dying, which best describes you and your company?
Shared trust, faith, and passion in a common goal is the key to success. Is there a better action then to promote this philosophy supporting the growth of your team's development and knowledge? | 
