We Want More For Less – Sound Familiar?

“I want you to deliver more:”

• Profit
• Sales
• Productivity
• Customers
• Quality

“And, by the way, you’ve got less:”

• Money
• Staff
• Time
• Machinery

Sound familiar?

Year on year, leaders are being asked to achieve improved results with fewer resources or, at least, more from the same. To most Directors, the attainment of a permanent increase in  revenues must seem like the search for eternal youth; unending and, ultimately, unavailing.

Unfortunately, the task never becomes any easier and as competition continues to intensify, organisations will face issues that can be extremely difficult to deal with e.g. decreased product uniqueness, increased competition within ‘safe’ markets, longer sales cycles and shorter product life spans.

The reality is that whatever got you where you are today will not be sufficient to keep you there. A rapidly changing environment is the regular background against which organisations must develop.

Change is continuous and will become more rapid as we move forward over time. Management must be capable of reacting to those changes, be prepared to take advantage of them and yet stay within the overall framework of a formalised strategy.

The role of strategy is fundamental if the people within an organisation are to be enabled to make the level of contribution of which they are capable. Strategy, based on a good grasp of the core competencies of a business, is an essential precursor to achieving optimal shareholder value.

On Wednesday: “Getting more for less or more from the same level of resources”, is my simple definition of efficiency. I will highlight six steps you can take that will help you achieve those increased targets:

How do you cope with the pressures of increasing demands? Please leave me a comment and share your experiences.

Tomorrow: Leanne Hoegland-Smith is my guest author: “Remarkable Leadership Means Incredible Innovation”