Economic Revival – Are we Ready?

Economic Revival – Are we Ready?

How many more times have we read, listened to the statement that every crisis leads to opportunities and scope of improvement?

Are we ready to revive? What is the level of fear factor? How certain are we in this uncertain situation?  

Firstly, let us go through a few facts that were recently published in the leading Business News bulletins. Afterward, we will try to introspect.  

A. "Impairments are triggered due to falling demand/revenue/profitability, rising losses, increased competition intensity, among other factors. The cumulative effect of which is to reduce the economic viability of the subject business," said Rajeev Shah, MD of RBSA Advisors. "Where the subject business is into commodities, it suffers a double whammy, wherein falling demand immediately triggers fall in prices, putting the company in a miserable position." 

B. "We don't expect this (write-downs) to be a one-time impact as most companies will need to continuously monitor the situation and reassess the economic scenarios that could play out in the future," said KPMG partner Sai Venkateshwaran. "Where the assessment continues to show a decline or a prolonged impact on business, companies may need to record further losses in the coming quarters and we can expect to see more of these reflected on a quarter-by-quarter basis rather than only in the last quarter." 

So, let us briefly do some introspection.

Major challenges for the revival of businesses in front of us are: 

From where to start? Lots of parameters exist viz. Quality, Cost, Delivery, Growth, Profits, etc. 

Shall we shrink OR expand?  

Yes, the strategy needs to be reframed BUT - How and What? We are not sure if there is enough time available to do 'trial & error' for Strategy revision. 

Shall we take 'short term actions' now and then will decide on 'medium-term' and 'long-term plan' later? Maybe yes. BUT what if the link between short, medium, and long-term strategies get disconnected?   

Are we in-line with our competitors' and market concerning the revival plan OR we are quite off track? 

The strategy and actions that we implemented during the last crisis our business faced worked well and we could rebuild. Shall we apply the same? A crisis is a Crisis – Isn't it? – Maybe!

And many more. 

Navigating in these uncharted waters requires actions of 'high urgency' – "Speed with Accuracy" is the need. Or else, we may lose. 

Let us also take a moment to look at what is happening around.  

Everyone is gearing up.  

Almost everyone is struggling irrespective of size and shape. 

Market equation changing at a lightning speed. 

The List of Fortune Global 500 companies getting reshuffled at speed never seen before.  

SMEs are putting a 10x effort to work on the growth strategy due to the new opportunities and new policies and support being laid down by the government. 

Large business conglomerates making a big shift in their strategies and at a high speed. 

The most profitable and growth-oriented industries now struggling for survival just within 150 days. 

Now, let us thoroughly investigate a few broad steps to be considered for REVIVAL. One thing is for sure that whatever needs to be done needs to be done at lightning speed BUT with right steps as any wrong turn now may lead us to a completely different planet in the times to come: 

1. New Strategy Planning and Deployment 

2. Improving Marketing and Sales Effectiveness 

3. Focus on Innovation and Research 

4. Accelerated Development 

5. Environment Management 

6. Flow Improvement to deliver to customers on-time; in-full – with reduced inventories 

7. Productive Maintenance 

8. Quality Improvement 

9. Service Improvement 

10. Sourcing and Supplier Management 

In the 'End to end Value Chain,' i.e. Suppliers to Customers, GQCDM (Growth, Quality, Cost- Resource Efficiency, Delivery- Flow Efficiency, and Man – Respect for People) are going to play a major role. From the points listed above, 1 to 5 will help us in our Growth Strategy Execution and points 6 to 10 will help us in Operational Excellence. 

Of course, all the above actions are not one time and need to be continuously followed for consistent and sustainable results. We cannot build short term strategies for our Business. 

It is also extremely important to discuss here that a great shift must be there in PARADIGM i.e. Paradigm Shift.  

"We cannot hope to solve our most difficult problems with the same thinking that created them" – Albert Einstein. 

A Paradigm is a way of thinking based on Values and Beliefs, and reinforced by standards, habits, and results, which influences our way of interpreting a given situation or problem... 

Change in Values and Beliefs (the way we think) and Habits and Standards (the way we act), lead to a change in the CULTURE of an Organisation. This is the prime need of the hour as well.  

Can we Start Re-Inventing the Wheel then?? Does the time permit? Not! 

All the above and more needs to be considered by us to REVIVE and COME BACK STRONGER.  

KAIZEN™ (KAI = Change; ZEN = Better) for Continuous Improvement by Everybody, Every day and Everywhere is the solution that Global Companies are practicing and implementing for Strong Long -Term REVIVAL of our Businesses.  

Author

 

Diwakar Jayaswal, Senior Consultant at Kaizen Institute

About Kaizen Institute 

Kaizen Institute is the original and premier provider of KAIZEN™ services of Change Management, Business Excellence, Operational Excellence, and Lean. 

We support companies of all sizes in all market segments, providing them with a sustainable, competitive advantage. Our Vision is Improving the world with Everyone, Everywhere, Every Day – The KAIZEN™ Way. “KAIZEN™ means Change for the better.” 

Kaizen Institute is a global organization that provides consulting and training services to companies represented in Europe, the Americas, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa. We are currently operating in 60+ Countries for 35 years. 

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