PERSPECTIVE
Which Is The True North ?
By Joseph Lunani
When we cannot find our direction in the jungle of business , which is our true north ? When all fails , when nothing works , when we cannot sustain the venture and we are high on debt … where should we turn to ?
“ Yes , you have a well-researched business plan , you have a good product or service , your pricing is backed by actuary and market indices , your team was competitively and widely sourced , you got funding in the initial stages of the business after a wonderful incubation period . You have good client listings and an unenviable sales pipeline database . Only that the numbers are not reeling in as they should and the team ’ s performance is off almost all the time .”
“ You started on guts and have been riding on it . You have now a big network of clients and have good supplier relations . You built a team and have trained them to be aces . You have built your business plan on the go and frequently adjust it to match the environmental needs of the venture . Why is it then , that the business is dragging ?”
“ You are an innovator ; you saw a problem and created a solution . You won your first major client that anchored your business growth . You have continuously improved your solution and thus increased your client base . You have had to dribble around compliance issue after another and now it feels like a pain each day as there are many other things you fall short of .”
“ You inherited a family business . You saw your parents build it from scratch . You learnt the ropes . The team has grown in the business . You have recruited a few more and even have improved their benefits and welfare . But sales are now dwindling and there seems to be boobytraps with each turn of the business .”
“ You were invited to a private share offer of a good business idea . You audited it with a top-notch firm , you studied it for some time then invested in it since it checked all the boxes . You have been an active participant of good improvements to your internal governance and better service delivery . But the business seems to experience small issues which can never go away and thus you are always short of breaking even .”
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Yes , you have a good business , quality products , amazing service but who do the people say your business is . Could it be your business is known for cutting corners ? Could it be your team is known as the lazy bunch ? What is the silent perception your brand oozes that could harm your sustainability ?
All these scenarios are realities that each one of us has encountered , grapple with or may soon find themselves in . All businesses are unique even if they are in the same industry and of similar size . Team dynamics play a crucial role in the operations and sustainability of businesses . Internal Governance of standard operation procedures , policies and service delivery are key in having consistent quality output as well as client retention . Customer use cases should always feed back into management and how service delivery is done .
Environmental and operational compliance to laws , regulations and industry specific needs is a full-time occupation for business managers and owners . The pursuit path to be compliant many times is a long stretch and a steep curve . Budgets in a volatile economy never holds ; limits are pressed from every corner . Set limits are surpassed with big margins that create holes into the bottom line .
Organizational culture is everything that a business needs to tune to the right frequency for increased productivity . It is the power play of teams , it is the unsaid words a client or partner is fed , it is the customer journey sights and sounds . Organizational culture is birthed by the unwritten rules and traditions of the business . It is shared in hushed whispers and learned by silent practice . A great team player , even the founder within a business , could start a bad culture that takes a chokehold of the business . The culture they started may look innocent on the onset but when it takes root it then buds bad brand perception of the business .
Unfortunately , organizational culture is often never monitored or evaluated . It never
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