Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/613635
I DA U N I V E R S A L N ove m b e r - D e ce m b e r 2 0 1 5 76 C aterpillar's recent announce- ment that it is laying off 10,000 employees and doesn't expect the climate to turn around until 2017 is only the latest signal that business conditions for some IDA members are uncertain right now, and this volatility probably will continue. Although I'm not from the heavy equipment a ermarket industry, in preparation for my keynote presentation at this year's annual convention in Miami, I interviewed as many IDA members as I could to get a sense of current industry trends and best practices. My conversations revealed that now is not the time to hunker down, cut costs and wait for conditions to improve. Rather, it's an opportu- nity to step up the pace of innovation in your fi rm, take positive action and catapult your company to its next level of success. Below are four action steps to lead change in your company: Embrace the Opportunity Mindset. While some IDA members delivered strong sales increases last year, it was a tough year for many. In times of rapid change, it can seem like the bottom is falling out. We look for scapegoats, long for the good old days and put off tough choices. But the key to a successful reboot is to fi rst transform our thinking. Come to work with a "can do" attitude that gets everyone fi red up, ready to win new business. Celebrate even the smallest of victories. e key to shi ing from playing defense to off ense is to assess where your company sits in today's market, and where you want to take it in the next three to fi ve years. As part of this assessment, it's important to ask tough questions, such as: What has been your leadership style relative to the recent changes? What new ideas have you acted on in recent years, and what was the result? What new markets have you entered? What ideas have you had on the drawing board on which it might be time to act? In Defeatist Mode, we simply worry and complain, but worrying is a negative use of the imagination. In Sustainer Mode, we create excuses for not taking action. In Opportunity Mode, we imagine how we want our company to be tomorrow, we experiment, we do research, we benchmark other successful companies, we open to possibility thinking, and we take action. Take a Fresh Look at How You Differentiate. Last month, Hewlett- Packard laid off 30,000 employees, on top of the 54,000 it laid off previously. e problem: lack of diff er- entiation of its key product, the desktop computer from competitors Lenova, Dell or Brand X. When the customer can't tell the diff erence between your off erings and someone else's, you've entered the commodity zone – it's all about who has the lowest price. Increasing numbers of indus- tries face the commoditization challenge, and the solution is to up your diff erentiation. If you haven't done something to distinguish your company lately, ask yourself this question: What's unique about your company, your products and services and people, that keeps customers coming back year a er year? Such a question would be easy for IDA member company Black Cat Blades to answer. ey've emphasized diff erentiation in a fl urry of patented new product off erings in recent years. But diff er- entiation is not confi ned to products. Forward-thinking companies add unique value in areas that others take for granted, as in "the way this industry does business." ey create new value-added services. ey introduce diff er- entiated purchasing agree- ments and terms of sale. ey train sales technicians to be problem solvers, not just order takers. With enough creativity and a willingness to "assault Leading Ahead of the Curve By Robert B. Tucker