How to Steer a Business in Complex Times

by David Brewster © David Brewster 2006. All rights reserved. Reprinted by Remacue with permission

Question: “How can I make my business simple when so much external complexity is imposed on me, particular from competition and regulators?” I’m asked that question a lot. The answer, my friends, is blowin’ in the wind.

Doing business in the 21st century means negotiating treacherous seas. Think quick. Move fast. Do what you can to stay afloat. Deliver the highest quality and the lowest price – yesterday. Do it with half the staff you used to have. Keep your people safe, ensure privacy, watch your governance and be good corporate citizen.

And the implications of this complex environment? Low cost operators are leaving western competitors in their wake. Customers increasingly shop from a global platter rather than limit themselves to the local catch. And more and more managers in both large and small businesses are choosing family over the firm and making for shore.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could remove all this complexity and restore some calm? Imagine if you could be steering your business across mirror smooth seas, beating your competitors on a level playing field, so to speak.

As a teenager, my dad and I used to sail a small boat competitively. I say ‘competitively’ in the sense that we raced against other boats. It wasn’t that we ever threatened them. I used to get wet and cold and complain a lot about the conditions (though I’m now thankful to have the skill of sailing in my repertoire).

Sailing can test your mettle. If you’re lucky you might find yourself powering along under blue skies with dolphins as outriders. But you might just as well spend hours wallowing, without a puff of air to propel you. Or you might battle for control in gale-force winds while being thrown around mercilessly like a rubber duck in a toddler’s bath.

Now, teenage minds may not be the most perceptive, but I did notice one thing. The guys who won our races tended to win regardless of the conditions. And the pretenders who shivered back to the showers after everyone else ... well ... we did that regardless of the conditions too.

Much as I might have whined about them, it wasn’t the conditions that made the difference. It was having a clear plan for dealing with any conditions and the skills and resources to put that plan into action.

And that, ultimately, has to be the solution in business too. No matter how high the waves in your business environment become, the best will always win.

Trying to remove external complexity is like trying to stop the wind. You won’t do it. Instead, spend your energy finding the complexity within your business and removing or reducing it. If you do that, it won’t matter how rough it gets – it will always seem smoother to you than to everyone else.

David Brewster is a member of our Remacue community. Visit him at www.businesssimplification.com.au