Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Status Quo

Fighting Status Quo Fighting Status Quo Over on the "new & improved" www.throughput.us web site, I was explaining "People first" and touched on the concept of Status Quo. For most of my consulting career, the first option on my quotes for new business deals is this odd sounding selection. Why? People become entrenched and often take on that attitude, "If the solution is not invented here, it won't work here." How stupid. Yet most of us are guilty of that mistake. And worse! But let's take a closer look to the real cause: change. Mr or Ms Business Owner is fighting "the good fight" as we say, but there is less and less profit left at the end of each month. If any! So they look around and decide that if GM can lay off major portions of a highly skilled workforce, then maybe we should too. Then I call and suggest I can help. "No thanks." How stupid! You know absolutely nothing about GM's situation (especially if you are getting it third hand from the media) or as I call them, "constraints", and yet you are happy to duplicate a very flawed methodology. Better still, you will explain it as "common sense" and tell your significant other that everyone is struggling. "It's the economy!" Wrong There are plenty of companies making money. Hiring people. Expanding operations. And generally very enthusiastic about their future. Especially given the fact that many a competitor has already conceded the war. Think about this scenario for a minute... 60 whole seconds: let's put a face to it by holding up an example: salesforce dot com. Ticker symbol: $CRM Change Markets change. Yet there you are, clinging to Status Quo as your economic boat catches fire and begins to sink. How is it we decide to jettison personnel at exactly the moment we need "all hands on deck" to fight the good fight? Wrongheaded thinking, mostly. When you see examples of "common practices" like lay offs as cost cutting measures, that is exactly the moment you need some uncommon common sense. That is exactly what I bring to the table. Markets change. Do you? Jeff 'SKI' Kinsey, Jonah ski@throughput.us ©2010 Jeff 'SKI' Kinsey. All rights reserved.
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