 "Operating Your Business in a Global Economy"
Greetings!
Are  you hopeful or doubtful?
Just the other day I had a very encouraging conversation with a
new business owner who achieved his Q1 goals and can clearly see his way
through Q4. It was exciting to hear and I was inspired! No doubt, you too are thinking, planning and implementing success strategies.
If you're a virtual business owner, your client prospect
reach has been expanded by Globalization. The world is a virtual playing field. Success or failure is no longer determined by country boundary
lines, but by understanding how to connect despite lack of
visibility. Web 2.0 enables collaborative meeting spaces, portals, shared workspaces,
VoIP, P2P, social media tools and the list goes on and on. We're connected in the most amazing way.
In the face of the US' economic recession, the global
market place is impacted as well.
How do you stay afloat? What
attitude do you need to have and master? and Why think about going global? Stay tuned this month as we consider some of these exciting topics.
I'm excited about the times we're living in and what the
future offers.
If you liked this article about operating in a global economy, you are going to love this month's speaker. Karen Lauderback will be telling us how to use Global Aggregation to create greater sales, profits, cost savings and purchasing power. Her strategies will assist your company to collaborate  with other successful companies in order to maximize your wealth.
Virtually yours,  |
Surviving an Economic Recession -
A Business Improvement Perspective
A global recession triggered by various causes is
certainly bad news for all businesses in an increasingly global
economy. From increasing oil prices, to chokes in credit lines for
companies to do business, all these would spell trouble for world
demand, directly impacting the bottom-line of companies. The usual
tendencies for companies in their quest for business survival during
these turbulent times would have been to get into the acts of headcount
reviews, budget freezes and reduction, and other drastic cost-cutting
measures. However, overreacting to this situation or merely following
the "order of practice of the industry" may handicap a company's future
growth when demand recovers again. What companies should do is to take
this opportunity of a downturn to re-invent themselves and consider how
best to position themselves for global recovery when it happens.
There
is usually a silver lining in all recessions, and that it is the time
far-sighted companies are triggered to re-invent themselves in terms of
practices, processes and human resources through business improvement
practices.
Companies could use a myriad of business improvement
methodologies such as Lean, Six Sigma or business process
re-engineering to reap current and future benefits during a downturn.
Lean, largely associated with the elimination of the 7 business wastes,
could be used to review current processes and practices for immediate
cost reductions without reducing valuable headcount. Examples of Lean
techniques worth considering could range from the simple 5S (a
methodology to ensure that what's needed is known to be available, and
what's unnecessary is made known for alternative uses) to value stream
mapping which could be used for identifying the 7 business wastes for
elimination and process improvement. Six Sigma, a well-known
methodology typically used for achieving zero defects, could be used to
discover root causes of high business expenditures so as to facilitate
their reduction and control. Even the good old process re-engineering
practices could be used to review and analyze current business
processes for streamlining and improvement.
Also worth noting is
that business improvement activities involve teams and encourages
teamwork. Such activities would most certainly improve employee morale
during the gloom of a global downturn, while at the same time increase
their intellectual capacity and create a learning organization. Don't
forget that it is also the people that make the company, and improving
their morale in turbulent times will go a long way in firming the
foundations for good times that will come again.
The bottom line
of this perspective on how companies can survive an economic recession
through business improvements is that business improvement
methodologies provide a valid alternative to the "layman version" of
cost-cutting measures. These methodologies provide a more prudent
approach for reviewing the business during a downturn for long-term
survival. They also enable the invigoration of companies for the next
wave of growth. The possibilities are endless. It is up to companies to
be innovative for their survival during a recession and beyond.
Adrian
Tan is founder of One.Strategist LLP, a boutique management consultancy
firm specialising in providing business improvement solutions. He is a
senior member of the American Society for Quality (ASQ), and a
Certified Six Sigma Black Belt. He is also a PMP, and member of the
Project Management Institute (PMI). During his career, he has helped
companies with improvement projects enabling both tangible and
intangible benefits.
Website: http://www.onestrategist.com.sg
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| In the next issue
-
The Changing Global Economy Can Kill Your Business
- Bartering - Part I
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Business Planning or Strategic Planning
Part 3: How About Both, But Made Simple?
In Part I and II
we gave you some foundational information and resources for preparing your business
plan. This post contains a quick and simple table of contents for your
business planning binder. Read more...
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EVENTS
The Smart-Savvy Entrepreneur's Expert Call
WHAT:
"Global Aggregation"
WHEN:
March 26, 2009
5:00 PM EST
4:00 PM CST
3:00 PM MT
2:00 PM PST
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