Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/205815
Strategy In the Physics of Business ™ Don't Succumb to Biznertia Whether your equipment business is at rest or in motion, it's your intelligent action that matters most. Take our Assessment Test. BY JEFF LEFEBVRE If you keep doing the same thing over and over for too long, you're likely to become irrelevant (And in some cases it's a sign of insanity – or so said Einstein). Think of Kodak, Nokia, Circuit City, Blockbuster, marquee brands once dominating their markets, now gone, irrelevant, or in significant trouble. Newton's First Law of Motion (inertia) states, "An object at rest will stay at rest, and an object in motion will stay in motion at constant velocity, unless acted upon by an unbalanced force." A cup of coffee at rest in front of you will remain at rest until a force is applied. The liquid coffee in a cup in your hand as you walk down a hallway will move with you. Rest stays at rest, motion stays in motion, until a force is applied. Well, the same is true in business and hence Lefebvre's First Law of Business (Biznertia™) – "A business at rest will stay at rest, and a business in motion will stay in motion at constant performance, unless acted upon by an unbalanced force." Kodak, Nokia, et al are examples of companies that had good motion, for a time. And then something happened. Either they rested – and the world changed around them, or they stayed in motion – but the motion was in the wrong direction. As forces are applied to any business, that business must adjust and adapt. For Kodak, the force was digital imaging. For Nokia, the forces were Apple/ Android/Samsung. Companies that ignore changes in their market (aka: stay are rest), or those that continue with old strategies (aka: stay in constant motion), put their futures at stake and risk becoming irrelevant. The key to long-term success in any business is to constantly balance or overcome market changes/forces with strategies of your own: innovation, changes in product lines and services, adoption of new technologies, new skills. Is your organization falling victim to Biznertia? Are you doing the same thing over and over with little adjustment for how the world is changing around you? A leader's job is to drive the right change at the right time. In Kouzes and Posner's study of leadership they found that one of the five "practices" exhibited by "exemplary" leaders was that they frequently "challenged the process".* They searched for opportunities, questioned the status quo, and were willing to experiment and take risks in order to improve their business performance. This is how great leaders avoid Biznertia. This doesn't mean that "change is always good" or that you should "change for change's sake" or aim for "constant change." Sometimes it's good to be the coffee in the cup going down the hall. If you're in a good hallway and you're making progress, there is no sense in changing course. But every now and then adjustments do need to be made and change (however slight) is required. Are You at Risk? How susceptible is your company to Biznertia? Answer the questions in the Biznertia Assessment Test. What forces are acting upon you and how are you adjusting for continued success? The Biznertia Assessment Test* on page 54 is broken into three broad categories: Monitoring/Assessment, Planning/Culture, and Action/Measurements. If you have trouble answering some of these questions, perhaps you're suffering from Biznertia. (continued on page 54) 24 | www.cedmag.com | Construction Equipment Distribution | November 2013