Editor's Note: The following is the fifth part of our ten part series called "Management Basics," by Fred Ode, CEO, chairman and founder of Foundation Software.
Everyone who knows me knows how easily I fall in love with "the book of the moment," otherwise known as the book I am currently reading. That book just happens to be Ben Franklin, An American Life, by Walter Isaacson. It's a book I highly recommend.
Among the many notable things that I've learned about Franklin is how, though not without his flaws, he lived his life in a constant state of change. As one of America's most well-known founding fathers, he was also a scientist, inventor, diplomat, writer and businessman. In addition to his many practical inventions, he was always inventing and reinventing himself.
Twenty-first century business owners and managers can learn a lot from Ben Franklin, especially on the topic of change. He teaches us that change is something to be pursued, not followed. Change, one of my "Top Ten Bulldog Basics for Long-Term Business Success," can also be characterized by the statement, "When better is possible, good is not enough."
Much has been written, researched and interpreted as it relates to the topic of change. I don't mean to simplify or overanalyze the subject. My observation as a business owner, however, is that you cannot manage a company year-after-year without making difficult decisions about change. More importantly, the less obvious the need for change, the more difficult the decisions will be.
Nearly everyone can agree that change is easy to do when it's in your face and you have no other choice-the market has slowed, the price of materials is skyrocketing or you can't find qualified workers. Something must be done, or your business is finished. But what about when things are going relatively well, profits are steady and work keeps flowing in? Believe it or not, this is the time to pursue change. Proactive decisions tend to be more goal-oriented and produce better results than those made in times of crisis or in reaction to change.
In business, as in life, the bottom line is that there is always room for improvement. The question becomes, where do you put your resources? My recommendation for a "healthy" approach to change involves performing an "annual business physical," checking closely for sluggishness and underperformance. There are two main areas to examine:
- People and Their Jobs
In nearly every industry, people can be your biggest asset-or your greatest liability. Businesses need to take a critical look at every person and every job to be certain the fit is there. Perhaps the job has outgrown the employee, or the employee has outgrown the job. What worked yesterday may not be working today. After careful examination of every department and the jobs that make them run, you may decide to shift job responsibilities, redefine jobs, reeducate workers or (the most difficult of all) layoff workers.
- Procedures and Processes
From employee reviews and change order processing to workflow and scheduling, every process within a business should be examined and analyzed. Is there redundancy or inefficiencies? Can things be done a better way? Once each procedure is evaluated, its value can be assessed to its cost, and change can be implemented. The process may show, for example, that the time is right to explore web-based collaboration tools, wireless communication devices or new estimating software.
Although difficult at times, one of the jobs of management is to be constantly searching for better ways of doing things. Like Ben Franklin, we can't simply rest on our laurels. We must constantly reinvent ourselves and aggressively pursue change. As he once said, "Drive thy business or it will drive thee." Two hundred some odd years later and Ben is still showing us the way.
Construction Business Owner, January 2006
