Please fill in your own (non-religious) blank.
Sweeping generalisations follow. No qualitative research, studies or substantive figures have been troubled in the making of this picture…
It may come as a surprise to you, but we face a crisis of confidence. In fifteen years of being a consultant I have never felt the degree of trepidation as exists amongst business owners right now. Plenty of analysts and economists are talking up Recovery, but they are countered by almost as many talking it down.
One of the first things I like to do with a new client is to agree a direction for the business. It may be a revolution or it may be an evolution, but it needs to be clear; services, products, pricing, processes and all the rest. If there’s an action, what’s the reaction? If there’s a choice, what’s the consequence? If there’s an innovation, where’s the consternation? If there’s a fault, who’s to blame? Aha! Right there, can you see it?
B L A M E – we seem to need it, we’re unsettled if there’s no-one or nothing to point the finger (or mouse) at. And, right now, it pervades like a virus through everything. So what’s happening is people, companies, institutions, governments are thinking, ‘…if we’re gonna get blamed anyway we might as well get something out of it for ourselves…’ What’s the result? A complete breakdown in trust. We don’t trust anything, we take nothing at face value and believe the worst in everything. The definition of value has been subsumed by discounts and freebies which are neither discounted nor free (in real terms). We’re all losing our balance… But before you fall…
There are great businesses out there, run by great people, who struggle to rise above the noise with a message that says ‘We’re very good at what we do. Pay us a fair price and You Will Be Happy.’ Seek them out.
Profit is great. I love it. But, not at any cost. Life’s too short and the World’s too small…
Listen, I subscribe to no doctrine, worship no Guru, and prescribe no formulaic solutions. In fact, I’m thinking of starting a group where the only criterion for joining is to be a decent human being. Too radical?