In today’s ultra-competitive business environment, the ability of an organization to meet the challenges of an uncontrollable external environment is often the difference between success and failure. These challenges may present themselves as changing customer needs, budget cuts, market dynamics, or evolving industry trends. Whatever the challenge, organizations must be prepared to adapt.
This environment is forcing entire businesses to become more agile, needing them to be able to rapidly respond to unexpected changes and challenges. This is difficult for many companies due to the policies, processes, and people in place. However, with a shift in mindset, strategy, and tools used, your business can be prepared to move swiftly with any change on the horizon.
1. Shift in mindset
A big barrier to your entire business being agile is fear. Oftentimes, people fear what they don’t know. They are afraid of the unknown, and subsequently, afraid of change. This isn’t a good mindset to have when one needs to be fluid and quick with decisions. Plus, change doesn’t have to be some transformational thing. Preparing employees and the company for change could be as simple as looking at incremental evolution that changes with the market and customers’ needs. At the end of the day, the main focus should be on delivering value to the customer, and any change that comes with that is going to be positive.
2. Shift in strategy
Another barrier for businesses that want to be agile and adapt to change is the complexity of the business. Are there a lot of moving pieces that will be affected by the change and not easily managed? Is there friction between the goals and processes of various departments? You want to understand the impact of any potential changes to all facets of the business to better prepare for the upcoming changes. When you define what it means to put the customer at the center of your company, you can help drive change in a way that produces positive results and responses. Additionally, consider your customer lifecycle. Factor into the strategy that every customer is at a different place in the sales lifecycle with your company. Leave no man behind!
3. Shift in tools
The final barrier to change for many companies is not using the proper tools to enable your team to be agile. Many tools and software products available these days are rigid and clunky; they don’t allow for nimbleness and customization. Since this plays a huge role in the day-to-day, and it can either help or hinder your business when change does come, it’s important to choose the right one.
Companies must adapt to change in order to stay relevant – with employees, with customers, and with the market. Responsiveness, quick decision-making, and flexibility help prepare for change before it is needed – and that is key to having your entire business become more agile. To learn more about CORAS and how it can help your company do that, visit www.coras.com today.