Redesign Your Business: A Simple Question That Can Save Your Company

When your organization is stuck and is unable to get to the next level or encounters an insurmountable business problem, consider the following: if you had to redesign your business today with no constraints, how would you do that?

Many of our business problems result from all the processes, procedures, and paradigms that we've put in place. Once they are in place, they become part of the organization's business culture and, unfortunately, seem unchangeable. And yet, we forget that we created these roadblocks and are hesitant to remove them.

One business owner was confronted with such an issue. He realized that his business was going to fail, and he would lose everything. He brought this issue to his Vistage Group and asked his peers for their counsel and advice. He wasn't expecting that they would save his business, but that's what they did by asking a simple question. The members asked this individual, "If you had to start over again, how would you redesign your business?" And the member responded by stating the number of people he would employ, the positions that would be filled, the facilities that he would use, and the processes that would be changed. At that moment, he recognized that there was an answer, but also, would he have the fortitude to make the necessary changes. It is easy for us to trick ourselves into believing we cannot change the components of a business. Yet, many areas can be modified respective to our level within the organization. The challenge is to have the courage to make the changes. When this question is answered, it leaves the decision-maker with a simple gap analysis.

The gap analysis is one of the most simplistic forms of a business or strategic plan, which can be summed up as follows: "Where am I, where do I want to be, how do I get there?"

Determining what change is necessary and how to implement is difficult because of the following:
• Unwillingness to change
• Political or family restrictions that may overrule the change
• Inability to see the change that is required

If you google ”small business failure,” you will find many different examples where companies went in the wrong direction. Consider the following instances that have resulted in business failure:
• Failure to establish and communicate company goals
• Lack of vision and purpose by principals
• Poor market segmentation and strategy
• Competition or lack of market knowledge
• Over-dependence on specific customers or individuals in the business
• Lack of management systems
• Absence of a standardized quality system
• Lack of financial planning and review
• Inadequate capitalization
• Owners or leaders concentrating on the technical rather than the strategic work at hand

It is easy to confuse cause and effect with lists such as these. Keep in mind that the items above are symptoms. For almost all business failure cases, regardless of company size, the main culprit or cause is ineffective, dysfunctional, or incompetent management teams. It is easy for a management team to be blindsided by a competitor, technology, or dysfunction. Overlooking any of these areas is one of the most fundamental reasons companies should have some form of outside board that is credible and persuasive to help management recognize potential problems and opportunities for the organization. It is also a group like this that can help your organization redesign itself and identify areas holding the organization back or opportunities that should be pursued. Consider how we witness this all the time with the national football league. General management attempts to secure impact players for the current season and impact players for the future. Roster changes are made where fans complain, critique and wring their hands over the future success or failure of the next football season.
The lesson for us is simple. Do not let the failures or successes of the past obstruct your future success. Critique your business as if you had to start again and see what changes you would make. Once the changes are identified, do you have the courage to make it happen?


Who is Jim Lindell

Jim Lindell is President of Thorsten Consulting Group, providing strategic and financial consulting, professional speaking, training and executive coaching. He is a Vistage Chair and responsible for two CEO groups in the Milwaukee area. He is an Award-winning Speaker and Best-Selling Author. Contact him at 262-392-3166 or [email protected].

Email: [email protected]
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