Company leaders must take the initiative in setting out how the company should function and operate, but they must also be dynamic in responding to needs and requirements as they arise. Effective strategic management must enable companies to move quickly in response to new challenges and replace outmoded ideas and practices with processes that can help meet new needs as they present themselves.
Keeping pace with the speed of business means that management never had enough time. While most would choose to focus on strategic areas such as operations, product development, customer relationships, and internal leadership, all too often the urgent takes priority over the important.
Ron Summer said:
“Where a company is going is more important than where it is coming from. As industry boundaries get erased, corporate birth certificates won’t count for much.”
Business success isn’t a mystery waiting to be solved. It’s an attainable goal if we simply avoid the reasons for business failure and continually focus on improving the areas that are responsible for business success. Fortunately, all business skills are learnable. We can learn anything we need to learn, to achieve any goal we can set for ourselves. There are no limits–except the limits, we place on our own imagination. The unique ability of people to listen, respond, persuade, and think for themselves enables companies to sell effectively, serve their customers, and work together with their business partners in rich, satisfying ways that create lasting high-value relationships.
“We better pay attention to the future, after all, that’s where we will spend the rest of our lives.”