While many companies believe they are planning for the long-term, they are actually taking the short-sighted viewpoint. The missing element is considering the potential ramification(s) for every new action to be implemented.
By reading the business news, we entrepreneurs may learn many free lessons of what to do along with what not to do. The perfect example is of a recent story concerning Japanese companies that made a seemingly straight-forward decision to only later find it brought about far-reaching devastating results.
What happened? In their desire to cope with the economic downturn, and as firing employees became a necessity, Japan slowly but surely let go of their male workforce retaining only the women. The initial reasoning behind this decision was these companies paid their male employees more than their female counterparts. They would save much money by retaining the female staff. It is true the company cash flow increased and empowered the women. They became more self-reliant. This sounds great until you come to terms with the larger chaotic effect this one decision had on the entire Japanese economy.
The idea of balance or not putting all of your eggs into one basket was completely ignored Men and women hold different perspectives. A business will benefit from receiving input from many viewpoints on all aspects of business. Instead the Japanese companies threw this opportunity away. Additionally, no one ever gave thought to the fact that because the women are paid much less than the men, they have far less discretionary money to spend. Hence, their entire economy suffered.
Delving deeper into the study, Japan was known for their innovative electronics industry. These new consumer items are normally expensive requiring a healthy salary in addition to which they primarily appeal to the men. But with the male population let go, few were left to purchase the electronics. Their electronics industry is now suffering from lackluster sales. Instead the Japanese women are more focused on travel to “get away from it all”, cosmetics and accessories turning the tables previously lucrative industries. Even though these newer industries may be faring better, they still are seeing less in sales due to the lesser amount of spending money available.
The one decision to lay off the men badly affected Japan’s economy in multiple ways and defeated any gain those individual companies may have initially seen.
As you consider tweaks in your business plan or major changes, take the time to analyze the “what if” scenario first. Determine how each change may affect your day-to-day business as well as the long term.
How will your business development effort change and ultimately affect your branding effort? How will it affect your intended clientele?
For additional help, ask your peers to play devil’s advocate to get into the possible deeper ramifications for how your change might negatively affect the outcome. The thought you initially put into a decision will provide a far more positive outcome. Your personal brand will speak volumes to your intelligent business approach and integrity. This further empowers your branding effort that will attract increased attention and opportunity. You will be enjoying the Smooth Sale!
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Author:
Elinor Stutz, CEO of Smooth Sale, LLC, (800) 704-1499, authored the International Best-Selling book, “Nice Girls DO Get the Sale: Relationship Building That Gets Results”, Sourcebooks and the best selling career book, “HIRED! How to Use Sales Techniques to Sell Yourself On Interviews”, Career Press. She provides team sales training, private coaching and highly acclaimed inspirational keynotes for conferences. Upon request Elinor is available for consultation.
