Today’s times are characterized by uncertainty and rapid change. Businesses face uncertainty about how their markets might change, which key players will dominate the newly emerging business landscape, which ones will make “Winning Moves” and which ones will stagnate or decline.
Consequently, many business have encountered tough conditions over the last several years. During these challenging times, many have had to deal with stagnating or shrinking markets and threats of potential disruption. This creates enormous pressure to act because it is thought that something must be done to address the changing situation.
As a result, companies often respond by making the wrong kind of changes. At the time, however, they may not have realized they were making major missteps. However, once the folly of their inappropriate changes becomes apparent, correcting for and undoing these changes can easily leave a company far worse off than if nothing at all had been done. Inappropriate change can be especially devastating when it entails greatly altering the existing business in ways that alienate current customers and drive them elsewhere. Once that happens, it can be tremendously challenging to lure those former customers back.
This is a shame because change can often bring great opportunity. Times of change can be especially prosperous for those companies able to successfully put the pieces in place to integrate at least some of the old with the right mix of the new. Doing so can be particularly beneficial for companies that make the right moves while their competitors are changing in ways that not only fail to deliver results, but also can block success for years to come.
That’s why it’s so important to evolve a business in ways that are likely to work. A great deal is known about what works and what doesn’t. For example, knowing how to build on strengths to take the business forward toward the new is crucial. However, many businesses still struggle to understand the difference between the types of moves that work and those that are failure prone. To illustrate some of what works and what doesn’t, there are many examples here on this blog as well as in my newsletters posted on this website. And, the payoff for getting it right can be tremendous.
