Edition 514 – Agility

Some years back, I was introduced to a fairly large corporate, to put together a proposal for them to increase the level of financial knowledge amongst the head office management team. This was a business in the hundreds of millions of dollars of turnover, with multiple outlets across the country, and with very defined internal reporting structures. I was excited for the opportunity, both for that business, and for the potential to white label a portion of the end product, and roll it out elsewhere.

I never got the gig. It turns out they didn’t have the budget to undertake the project after all, even when I asked them what the budget was, before preparing the proposal. The number they eventually threw back at me, was probably what head office spent on Arnott’s Tim Tams each year. That’s not hyperbole either!

I learned a valuable lesson, at that very moment, which was to absolutely, positively, know your target market, and only focus on that. This business was nowhere near my target market. I let my ego get in the way, when the initial enquiry came through.

There’s another learning that I took on board from that moment as well, which was, how the hell would I have adapted to a large corporate, with it’s rigid hierarchy, and the time it would take, to make a decision, quite possibly about anything?

I’ve worked with small and family business for close to 40 years. One of the things I really love about my work, and the clients I work with, is that:

1. We have a problem at 8am.
2. We’ve nutted out a solution by 12pm.
3. It’s implemented by 4pm.

There’s an incredible agility around small and family businesses that most other organisations cannot fathom. They can act quickly, and deal with a myriad of issues on any given day, such that by the end of the day, the tally board in terms of output and achievement can, at times, be phenomenal. Things can happen very, very quickly.

On the flipside, there are occasions where decisions are impulsive, and not backed up with any real business case, particularly when it involves committing significant funds to a new project, major capital investment or a key hire for a senior role.

So, how do you remain agile, and still plan long term?

To me, it’s down to having a plan for your business that:

1. Is guided by key principles – such as what we will and won’t do, or who we will and won’t serve.
2. Is defined by clear purpose – for yourself as the owner, for your family, and for the business.
3. Is adaptable such that any major pivot can be considered in real time.
4. Is reviewed annually, even if that is only to tweak it.
5. Involves the key people in your organisation, and is not reliant on a single individual.
6. Is driven by someone external to the business, who holds the team involved in designing, implementing and tweaking the plan, accountable.

More than 60% of Australia’s GDP is generated by small and family business. They also employ roughly that percentage of the Australian workforce. As an industry sector, they’re vibrant, flexible and innovative. The agility of small and family business is thus not merely critical for the business itself and the families that depend on them, but for the country as a whole. Without that agility, where would Australia be?

This Week’s Tip

“The Australian Bureau of Statistics defines small business as less than 20 employees.
They represent 97% of the total number of businesses in Australia.”