Failure = Not being able to change

There is no doubt that the key to a healthy and successful company is the ability to adapt and change when needed. Having the hubris to think that your company is on top and will always be on top is the biggest mistake the leader of a company can make. That type of arrogance is what lead to financial problems for IBM in the 1990's and the Big 3 Detroit automakers in the current economic climate. Leaders need to realize that past success does not guarantee future results.

It is fair to say that when a company fails, ultimately the blame of that failure falls on the CEO and Board of Directors. Those people are in place to lead the company, and when something goes wrong - regardless of any internal or external factors - the blame falls on them. The Process of Change is a vial, yet difficult path, that organizations must follow when things need to be altered for the overall health of the company.

There are different changes that need to be implemented based on if the problems are internal to the company, or part of the external environment. A good leader needs to be ahead of the curve when making these changes. I like how Louis Gerstner, Jr. told his employees at IBM that he wanted them to "Move fast. If we make mistakes, let them be because we are too fast rather than too slow." Granted Gerstner had to do that because he didn't have time to figure out everything in a slow and precise manor as IBM was hemorrhaging money, but I like that leadership model.

I think the hardest thing for a leader to recognize is when exterior factors are a problem for their business. A good leader can notice when problem are happening in-house; a great leader can sense the changing of the guard in the external market and quickly adapt to it before things spiral out of control for the company. In order to combat changing factors in the external climate, there are several things that are crucial, and the ones that I find the most important came from last night's Powerpoint presentation.

The first thing that needs to be done to create change is re engineering existing work processes. If the company is succeeding internally but there are obstacles in the external market, there is no reason to break up and change the company too much. However, it is important to restructure as needed to fend off the competition. Another thing that needs to be done is expanding (or contracting out) work locations. External factors are a good time to reevaluate how internal processes are working and being handled, and if there are some processes that would work better in another area (or eliminated all together). Finally, it is crucial for the leadership to stress integrating a customer-service based approach. Ironically, this rated the lowest when organizations responded how they handle the process of change. In my opinion having elite customer service is a great way to have differentiation in the market place. When external factors such as new competitors, new technologies, a recession, etc. occur, the one constant that a company can fall back on is having the best customer service in the industry. It might not be something to easily accomplish, but it is something that every company can strive to do to the best of their abilities.

As a leader, it's imperative to respond with the listed changes when your company is in need of re-inventing itself before things get too bad - and there is no company to lead anymore.