Confronting Changing Business Climates

In order for businesses to continue to be successful, they have to be willing to change. What worked yesterday doesn't necessarily work today. Consumer needs and wants are constantly changing, and businesses must constantly evaluate their strategies and adjust them when necessary.

This is often easier said than done for the simple reason that all too often, businesses are unwilling to confront difficult truths about what isn't working. (You can actually see this in action by reading a recent article about Burger King where the reporter gives updated facts about how Burger King's once reliable customers now buy fast food differently, then read quotes from BK executives as they completely pretend it isn't happening).

No ethical business executive wants to ignore unflattering data, yet it is still done quite often due to too much personal investment to the old strategy. They have devoted much time and passion to something that used to work, and often cling to false hope that if they just wait out whatever condition has changed, things will go back to normal.

Objectivity is often made more difficult when what changed consumer desires isn't the fault of the business. It is one thing to confront change when you know you put out a lousy product and that you need to improve it. It is more difficult when you didn't do anything wrong per se, but things have somehow become different. Newspapers aren't declining because they were putting out low quality stories; they are declining because the advance of the Internet has changed how people access news and how much they expect to pay for it.

So how does one make sure that they are looking at data objectively and are not through rose-colored glasses. You need to ask yourself some tough questions when evaluating your strategy:

1) If I was just starting this business today, would I be doing it this way?
2) If another business was paying me for objective advice on this strategy, would I recommend it?
3) If I owned the company (or, if you are an owner, if I was responsible for someone else's money) would I okay this?
4) Do I have an emotional investment to the old strategy that I am not being honest with myself about?

Being objective is tough; that's why many businesses hire outside consultants (like me) to evaluate their strategies. Regardless of whether your strategy evaluation is done with outside help or internally, confronting change head-on with one hundred percent honesty is essential to staying viable in the future.