In the process of developing operational business improvement/turnaround strategies it is critical that all options be carefully identified and evaluated. I guard against placing forward plans in a strategic straightjacket and pursuing the same strategies that have always pursued rather than stepping back, taking a fresh look at the strategic options available and adopting a new, conciliatory and creative approach. Sustainability and growth is all about accepting that choosing, evaluating and implementing a strategic plan is a complex and creative exercise which gives absolute rise to a necessity of understanding strategic management, the organisation, and its respective industry.
I have found that some of the businesses I have turned around from loss into profit have had real innovative ideas but lacked the key management skills needed to get their ideas off the ground and turn them into reality. This is where a major forward success strategy is to employ someone with the background and experience to do it with them. A business needs management skill to prevent cash flow problems from materialising and in particular through the management of people including supplier, customer and creditor relationships. Understanding the cash flow cycle of business through effective financial management is essential to survival. Strategic Business Planning is the roadmap to success.
In turning a non-performing business around, I have found the process can be complex if there are multiple agendas in the organisation. Experience shows that 90% of failures are related to influences that should be managed of which 50% are internal which were not addressed by management. The success I have achieved in this area of business turnaround has been through an ability to quickly assess opportunities to determine what is wrong and then collectively develop strategies to be implemented which restructures how things are done and how things are thought through. I look at how the business can create value through the decision-making processes and generate a high probability of cash flow and sustainable success.
