[Editor's Note: The " protecting
your company from mayhem" series received significant positive response
when it first ran. So we decided to update it for 2016.
-dpm]
In
a popular series of television commercials that has run for several years
for a property and casualty insurance company, there is a "Mayhem"
character who causes unexpected disasters for auto/home owners. In one
commercial, he's a satellite dish falling off a roof onto your car; in
another he's your navigation system gone haywire causing a crash. The
message behind these commercials is that since mayhem is unavoidable,
you need insurance.
It
struck me that companies generate their own versions of mayhem -
things that occur that may on first blush seem to occur unexpectedly or
just be unfortunate.
Here are some examples:
- Discovering that you don't have the rights to use the trade name you've been using for 15 years
- Discovering that your employees have been plagiarizing content
- The employees that are developing your blockbuster new product all leave at once
- A new competitive product offering undercuts your price by 60%
- Your customers discover that one of your key vendors has been substituting a hazardous or substandard material resulting in product malfunction or customer injuries
- A new business model renders your product irrelevant
- Discovering that new regulations no longer allow you to ship your product
- Discovering that there is no liability insurance for all the products in the field that you've made for the last 10 years...and a latent defect has just been discovered
- Discovery that a "trusted" accounting clerk has been methodically stolen $800,000 over the last 10 years
All of these are true. Some might say bad luck. Synonyms for
mayhem are chaos, disorder, confusion, turmoil. The dictionary defines
it as "needless damage." In truth, all of these examples of mayhem were
identifiable ahead of time and most could have been avoided or
significantly mitigated.
In tough economic times or in times of rapid growth, companies can
be myopic and can ignore the need for strategic planning, competitive
scanning, and can defer implementing business processes and controls.
Some thoughts as you enter calendar Q2:
Develop a strategic growth and execution plan (Please- not just another retreat but a meaningful plan of execution)
- realistic assessment of where you are (strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats)
- competitive scan looking at traditional competitors as well as possible disruptive threats
- develop some scenarios of the future (including those at extremes) and actions to be taken as these play out
- develop specific actions, metrics and accountability to shore up the weaknesses, fill the gaps, address the risks, and take advantage of the opportunities and strengths
The
best time for strategic planning is during the May -September time
frame so that the organization has adequate time to develop the
business plan for next year.
Don't let another year go by. Neglecting the next steps in your company's growth and maturity can be very short-sighted. You need to protect your company from mayhem!
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About The Mead Consulting Group
Helping Companies Achieve the Next Level of Success
The
Mead Consulting Group, Inc. has been providing strategic planning &
execution, execution coaching, strategic marketing,
business development and leadership development services to mid-size
businesses since 1981. We specialize in working directly with owners and
CEOs to help their companies reach the next level of success. Our
clients have achieved superior results and consistently out-performed
their peers.
It's All About Results!
We've stood in your shoes,
worn your hats and
walked your talk
Like no one else, we can help you successfully navigate through
But, don't just take our word for it. Ask our clients.
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