Out of the Crisis

If life and business are getting on top of you right now, remember, there is a way to get out of any current crisis.

Some readers may be thinking that I’m referring to the regular economic challenges faced by all business people around the globe. In some respects I am, but it is far more than that.

‘Out of the Crisis’ is actually the name of a book written in the 1980s by the American born W. Edwards Deming. Deming enjoyed a landmark career which included a pivotal contribution to the rebuilding of the destroyed post-war Japanese marketplace, where he introduced new principles of management and resource utilisation.

So to state the obvious, any current economic crisis is anything but new. Economic crises have been around a long while and no doubt will continue to come and go around the globe.

The good news is people have gotten out of crisis before.

The even better news is that the keys to sustained success lie in tried and tested principles. Not fashionable trends.

Deming was a transformational leader. When you see his principles for transformation, I’m sure you’ll recognise many of them as today’s modern management and leadership ‘secrets’. Of course, in today’s widely connected world, they are anything but secrets!

Which means if you invest wisely in order to implement these principles, you’ll be out of the crisis before you know it. More importantly, you won’t be relying on external factors to make it happen either.

Short term vs long-term

The bad news is it’s the difference between short-term thinking and long-term thinking. Which means you can’t instantly find a solution over the Internet.

In a somewhat condensed form, (Out of the Crisis is a BIG book!), here are a few of Deming’s principles for you to contemplate…

1. Create a purpose around continuous improvement, being competitive and providing jobs.
2. Adopt new philosophies to move with the times.
3. Build quality in from the start.
4. Compete on quality.
5. Constantly improve production to improve quality and production and reduce costs.
6. Institute education, self-improvement and on the job training.
7. Institute leadership, not management.
8. Drive out fear (of making mistakes).
9. Break down department barriers. Communicate!
10. Make transformation a team effort.

The point is that the answer lies in your own strategic management capability. To put in place a culture of continuous, never-ending, and systematic improvement processes across all areas of your business.

Remember, the emphasis is on ‘systematic improvement’. So on that note, I’ll leave you with a couple of quotes to think about:

“If you’re the best person on your team, you’re in trouble.” – Anon (Please don’t try to do it all on your own!)

“You can’t overcome your current challenges using the same the same level of thinking, that got you where you are” – Albert Einstein. (Say no more!).

To success and significance. Give. Take. Invest. Enjoy.

Colin