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ResourcesWhat's Behind the CurtainIn the television show, Let's Make A Deal, Monte Hall asked the contestants what was behind curtain number one, two or three...The contestants anxiously considered the options, wondering if they would experience a great prize or a great bust. Would they be going on a beautiful Caribbean vacation or taking home a billy goat? When business executives are presented with opportunities, they don't always look like the welcoming and exciting curtains on a television game show. They appear to be more like cavernous walls, things to avoid. Like water, many of us would rather flow around obstacles. But the most successful leaders recognize that the biggest challenges usually represent the greatest opportunities. Like the famous game show, when we explore what's behind the curtain, we often find ideas that can transform our lives and our businesses. The staffing industry has just gone through another significant downturn. As you read this article, many of us in the industry are wondering about the economic growth of our country and the type of strength or weakness we will see in what we hope is a rebound to this last recession. Successful executives are being creative during this time. They are examining traditional ways of doing business, and are finding new ways to distinguish themselves in the marketplace and improve the value of what they offer their clients. They are also looking at how to work smarter. The pressure of the existing market conditions is going to push some staffing companies to heights that they never imagined. For others, that same pressure is going to push their business down into marginal performers. The difference in every case is determined by how the staffing executive perceives resistance, as a curtain with something wonderful behind it or as something to avoid. The companies that will be more successful than they have ever been will be focusing on two things: The first is they are going to re-imagine their businesses. Traditional approaches to the marketplace will not work in the present economy. There just simply is not enough activity. The staffing companies that will be successful are going to re-imagine both their value proposition to their clients as well as their relationship to their clients. They have to move from commodity providers to business solution providers. Commodity providers deliver product or services to customers. Business solution providers help clients solve problems that have strategic significance to their businesses. The second thing that the winners are going to be doing during this time, is reengineering their companies. That does not mean running out and spending money on technology. It means looking at our business processes and asking two critical questions. Are they efficient? Are they client centric? Technology decisions should be made strictly on the basis of those two strategic criteria. Many businesses miss opportunities to leverage technology for these two mission critical reasons because they are hyper focused on the here and now. If you think here and now, it would seem foolhardy to be spending time and money on infrastructure issues. If you think one year or two years from now, it actually seems wise to focus on these issues and start designing an infrastructure that will support profitable growth. The big winners will be shrewdly working both sides of the business for strategic growth. |
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