LEADERS
DIGEST
LEADING A BUSINESS THROUGH AND OUT OF CRISIS BY BRIAN SANDS
Experienced leaders know that around 70% of transformations fail. As a global economic proposition, we have been ‘holding-on’ for some time. COVID-19 has now tipped us over that edge into a deep chasm of recession and uncertainty, not quite 12 months since we endured the worst bushfire season in living memory in Australia.
A first mover mindset Often, ingrained thinking and traditional doing have got us to where we are today. However, it is the rapid pace of change that is slowing down our ability to learn, respond and adapt, to something different.
ASIC says that there were 10,748 insolvency appointments across Australia in FY2019. In round numbers that means 900 per month. Last month the AFR told us that “voluntary administrations across the country have fallen 60% compared to the same time last year (due to the temporary insolvency protections).”
This pace and complexity of change necessitate a first-mover mindset, a willingness to determine what your tomorrow will look like rather than wondering whether the sun will in fact rise.
Regrettably, an avalanche is building. In fear of rolling out well-worn ‘doom and gloom’ labels and whilst there are many exceptions to any rule, we are in a crisis – the turning point whereupon critical decisions are made and important change takes place leading to recovery, or not. Relentlessly chasing work, overloading internal resources, taking the knife to margins, and reconciling daily cash flows is hardly a compelling business proposition, is it? As a starting point to prioritise your response and to break the shackles of ‘holding-on’ – the inertia that disables effective crisis management – you need to 1. sharpen up your first-mover focus, before 2. co-creating your tactical response.
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Issue 46 I December 2020
Experienced leaders know that around 70% of transformations fail and will mobilise interventions to mitigate poor strategic planning, internal capability gaps, incorrect organisational structure, irrelevant business models and outdated thinking – the usual suspects of unsuccessful strategy.
