There is no doubt that many managers today really want to make a difference and look at having more influence with people in their business and marketplace. But a lot of these managers have stopped trying to make the necessary change happen because they believe it has all just become too hard. They even develop their own complicated coping strategies in place of the tools and techniques of successful people on the international scene. There are proven insights and achievers who love to share their success stories, removing the necessity to re-invent the wheel of best practice through robust strategies and high-leverage behaviours which will ultimately lead to rapid and profound change.
Experience over the past 10 years has clearly shown me that if Australia is to compete against overseas competition there needs to be an acceptance that old notions about how businesses should be organised, managed and measured need to be thrown out. Many of the out-dated organisational and operational procedures need to be re-visited, renewed with the future being benchmarked against best practice comparative companies. Accept that the new organisations won’t necessarily look like today’s corporations and the way they manage, manufacture, sell, purchase and deliver. Businesses need to be designed to operate in today’s competitive environment. Review core competencies and capabilities.
Good management relies heavily on a thirst for information but this thirst must not blind us to the fact that information alone is insufficient. We also need to complement this with ideas. Ideas provide us with an ability to look at information and its relevance to our strategic intent. Ideas alone without information are worthless but the best outcome of all is a combination of abundant information supplemented by ideas. With this approach to management, we should not fall for the mistake of assuming that collecting more information will do away with a need for ideas. But when a good manager consciously sets out to find opportunities he quickly finds areas that are in need of new ideas.
These are the experiences I have personally found when assisting businesses to adopt the necessary strategic plans to recover profit performances through sustainable growth programmes and best practice corporate governance through the education and involvement of employees at all levels.