Don't Let a Challenge Stall Your Business - Five Tips for
Staying on Track
Without challenges, your business would cease to exist. After
all, you began your business in response to a need and you
continue it for the same reason. However, just as your
customers' needs change over time, so do your business's. Your
competition improves, technology changes, and your employees
come and go. In order to stay in the game for the long haul, you
need to find new ways to satisfy your customers, improve the
efficiency of your processes, and maintain a healthy profit
margin. As you strive to accomplish your goals, you will
encounter challenges along the way. Sometimes the challenges are
numerous and you don't know where to start. All the problems
compete with each other and you must determine which one is the
most pressing, which steps you need to take to solve it, and how
to get your staff to support your efforts. To begin, recognize
that problems come in two forms. They can be either a barrier to
accomplishing something (as in, "we can't possibly produce
20,000 units per week with our existing equipment") or as an
opportunity to do something better ("we need to reduce the cost
of processing purchase orders by 20%"). All challenges share the
common theme of a desire to do something tomorrow that can't be
achieved today. The easy part is identifying the challenge. The
trickier part is coming up with the detailed solution. Before
you start to work on a solution, you need to make sure everyone
is "on board" with you. Often, your colleagues (especially from
other departments) disagree on what exactly is and isn't a
problem, can't identify the steps to solve the problem, or don't
know when the problem will "end." To ensure that the right
challenges are tackled and logically solved, follow these tips
so you can cross off your problems one by one.
Tip #1: Have a clearly articulated mission statement.
"We need to reduce costs" is not a good mission statement. It is
too vague to execute because it is unclear what exactly the
cause of the problem is and when it will be completed. Create a
mission statement for each challenge that is clear and
realistic. Include what needs to be done, when it needs to be
done, and what measure will be used to evaluate its success. A
good mission statement might look something like this: "We need
to reduce the cost of shipping orders by 50% by July 1st, while
ensuring that the orders are delivered promptly--100% of the
time." This statement encompasses all the necessary elements of
a good mission statement and gives your staff a clear goal.
Tip #2: Have a consistent understanding of the problem.
When solving a large problem that involves multiple departments,
you often find that each group has their own agenda. They may
not even agree that there is a problem. To get everyone's
support, have them all involved in developing the mission
statement. Don't be surprised if you find "resisters" who don't
want to solve the problem because it means a significant change
to the status quo. Include everyone who will be involved in the
project, even if they initially resist. You can usually get the
support of resisters if they contribute their two cents to the
mission statement. They will feel included as part of the
solution from the beginning.
Tip #3: Make sure your problem is the most pressing one to solve.
In business, there is often more than just one looming problem.
How do you decide which problem gets solved first and which gets
put on the back burner? Money, time, and staff often limit the
number of problems you can solve at any given time. Instead of
haphazardly picking a challenge, be methodical. Once a year,
hold a staff meeting and create a "wish list" spreadsheet of all
the problems that exist. For each entry, name the problem,
indicate the resources it will require, the expected outcome,
and the duration of the project. Then rank your entries by their
urgency. Now you can easily determine which ones are realistic
to tackle this year. Remember that priorities change: projects
that were originally put on the back burner can suddenly become
fires that need to be extinguished immediately. Review the list
at least quarterly to ensure that each problem is still in the
right slot on your priority list.
Tip #4: Keep your mission statement prominently displayed.
Why spend the time and energy on a mission statement when you
just put it in a drawer to collect dust? Make sure each member
of your staff has a copy of the mission statement. Enlarge it
and hang it in your office. Each time you hold a meeting about
the problem, have your mission statement handy and remind the
group of the mission when things start getting awry. Eventually
you and your staff should have it memorized. The mission
statement is crucial to achieving your goal, so make sure
everyone involved has the mission statement embedded in their
brain.
Tip #5: Don't afraid to change the mission.
Problems aren't static; they can often change in complexity and
importance--they may change from a minor to major one or vice
versa. Components of the problem might change, or the
departments that need to work on it. When the problem changes,
change your mission statement accordingly. Just make sure you
involve the team in setting the new mission, defining the
revised timeframe, and re-allocating resources.
Start Solving Now
The best way to tackle challenges is head-on. Don't let progress
stall because you don't want to admit your business has some
problems. Your competition likely has as many (or more) than
you. Take action. Put your challenges in writing. Decide which
one needs to be solved first and dedicate the appropriate staff,
hours, and financial resources to implement the solution. Make
sure your staff can rattle off the mission statement and that
every activity supports the desired goal. Don't be afraid to
change as circumstances require. Focus on the detailed solution,
and before you know it, you'll be able to cross the first
problem off your list.