Controlling pace of response path to success

WITH the recent collapse of Canada-U.S. trade talks, the economic, political and social changes are coming at business leaders on a daily basis.

While you cannot control the pace of these changes, you can control the pace of response and timing of actions your organization takes. This is a time for thoughtful analysis and careful action, not chasing the latest trends.

Artificial intelligence, for example, can write articles, create images, draft emails and perform seemingly countless other tasks. But is this new tool solving a current business problem?

Successful companies know they must develop a strategy before launching any tactics. Otherwise, the strategy is based on “hope” — and we all know hope is not a strategy.

Implementation cannot wait until strategy is complete; the two need to be developed in sync. Doing so significantly increases the likelihood the desired results will actually be achieved.

So, how do leaders determine what deserves a response and then manage the pace of how that response is implemented? Here are three steps to consider:

First, understand what has changed or is about to change. Define the trigger event in detail. I have frequently said, “Prescription without diagnosis is malpractice.” The principle applies equally well to business. You cannot effectively “do” until you properly “know why.”

Second, decide what really matters. Make disciplined strategic choices based on logic and data rather than fear about what might happen. Be deliberate about what you will do and the intended results. Consider how customers and competitors may respond before choosing your course of action. You also need to anticipate how your actions may cause potential unintended consequences across the organization.

Finally, commit to what you can execute. Develop the action plan at the same time as your strategic choices. Understand the resources, partnerships and capabilities required and what you are genuinely prepared to commit to. Then make sure the entire organization has the will to follow through. When people know how their role fits into a plan, the chances of embracing it and delivering are increased.

There is always a risk in rushing to action. And yet, slowing down can be difficult when so much information is available at our fingertips.

Early in my football career, I was coached to know there are things you can control and things you cannot. The tempo and detail of your actions, mindset and interactions with others are what you are in charge of. You are not in charge of a competitor’s actions or your customer’s response to all the interactions in their world. Know what your pace is and what your organization can handle.

For example, about 10 years ago the Pokémon Go concept was created. It was to be the latest marketing trend that would rocket companies into financial success.

The mobile app game was touted as a marketing opportunity that could generate customer traffic through merchant sponsorships. But the foot traffic created by players searching for Pokémon characters was largely random, making product demand difficult for merchants to predict.

Many companies jumped on the Pokémon Go trend without ever seeing a return on their financial and human resource investment. Not analyzing the potential of the game, understanding the player profile and rushing to implement is a classic example of “fear of missing out.”

I recently developed and taught the first marketing capstone course at the University of Winnipeg’s Professional, Applied and Continuing Education (PACE) program. One of the first points I shared with the class is that in order to be valuable to the company, marketing leaders need to solve business problems. In today’s environment, all Canadian business leaders need to take a practical, not emotional, view of the forces affecting their organizations.

From the example 10 years ago to the situation today, the moral of the story is not to ignore change. It is to control the pace of your analysis and response.

Only when you understand what has actually changed, or is about to change, can you successfully determine how you will succeed, and then commit to what you can execute. The quality of the solution is limited by the quality of the problem’s definition.

Tim’s bits: Planning is hard and implementation is harder. Unexpected trigger events will test even the best game plan. Discipline doesn’t mean refusing to change. It means controlling when, why and how you respond.

Tim Kist is a certified management consultant, authorized by law, and a Fellow of the Institute of Certified Management Consultants of Manitoba

tim@tk3consulting.ca