In the fourth segment of my six part series on “Practical Leadership Insights about Leading during a Transition” I will focus on the following:
The biggest challenge a leader has when leading during a business transition is getting all employees to execute the big picture at the same time you are driving operational efficiencies. While the transition is happening to create scale and volume, it’s difficult to lead people to see the complete value proposition and to save money.
Business transitions are expensive undertakings that many times result in total failure. Even the best companies in the world struggle with it. The business graveyard is full of companies that don’t exist anymore because they couldn’t realize the efficiencies of the evolved organization in time. Take the case of Blockbuster video. For several years they were the darlings of Wall Street with their unique model of in-store video rentals. When they realized the digital disruption would put them out of business, they started to transition their execution model to online. Unfortunately, they were too late to the party and even more damaging, they didn’t have the technical skills or manpower to scale to make their new delivery system happen from an operational perspective. The leaders of Blockbuster were not aligned and couldn’t manage the big picture while trying to stay afloat.
As many companies today are also going through a business transition, I thought it would be helpful to share three tips on maintaining the big picture at the same time you are managing the efficiencies and details of the operations.
Make the New Value Proposition Bold
A business transition is a unique moment in time to choose a new value proposition and strategy. Make the new value proposition bold. Don’t try to be all things to all people, or worse yet, water it down. Take bold steps, support it, and stick with it if you really believe in it. Everyone is watching – especially customers and employees – so do it with confidence and make sure you communicate it well.
Communicate it and then communicate it again
Once you have taken the big bold step, you have to create alignment through communication. Communicate the new value proposition over and over again. You can’t over communicate and engage people enough to support it. Town Halls, Customer Conferences, digital and social distribution, and other live events can be great platforms of communications.
Don’t be afraid to evolve it as new information becomes available
You are transforming the business for a reason. Most likely because of external changes in the business ecosystem around you. As you execute and communicate your bold new value proposition, you can’t be afraid to evolve it as new information and feedback becomes available. The first version is many times not strong because of a lack of information about markets, customers, and competitors. As you start to gather new information and understand the changes in the new market, it may be necessary to evolve your approach even further. That it perfectly acceptable, as long as you keep your eyes and ears open to further changes, new information and continued disruptions.