A key challenge for leadership at SMEs

• While you are part of leadership at an SME, can you be away for a week or two, practically without intervening in the business, knowing well that the operations would go on trouble free? Have you tried it in the past? Would you like to try it now? How confident are you? If the answer is not in affirmative emphatically, then you may like to think about it. Here are a few catalysts.
• One of the major challenges that continues to bother the leadership at many SME’s is their own productivity / effectiveness. Some have realized the issue but with a little or no improvement and the others are living with it as given.
• It manifests as work load, time pressure, delays, little focus on ‘real’ issues that the leadership must handle e,g, growth, new development, future planning, customer relations, PR etc. The result is higher stress, lower growth, lower profitability … and more including no time for one self.
• What else can happen if one must decide almost every thing or do many things the others should do and are actually paid for? Why is this urge or feeling of compulsion to involve in or do the others’ jobs instead of demanding from them? The answers lie in::

• Poor delegation
• Poor capabilities down the levels
• Inadequate framework (Policy, process, roles, responsibilities, review mechanism etc)
• Hardly any conscious effort to enhance people and process capabilities and promote independence

• All this can be addressed. Enhancist’s passionate and highly experienced consultants will help you overcome the challenge and you will not only experience the significant difference but also gain in many ways.

People make the difference!

• To successfully survive and grow, irrespective of size, business organizations must lead or adapt to the (present and ensuing) market environment. Otherwise the competitive strength and hence preference from buyers shall diminish.
• Buyers in your target segment must perceive their required benefits coming from you reasonably better than the competitors / options. This is a constant fight. You got to have and convincingly demonstrate your competitive fit against the buyer needs.
• Some businesses do not have enough differentiation and have to take hit on price. Some businesses have it but the front line’s inability to articulate effectively brings pressure on price. Some businesses are able to achieve both on an ongoing basis and are the more successful ones.
• Why are they able to achieve both? The answer is: “their people, at various levels”. Strategy, technology, management, finances, … you name any success factor, it is to be ideated, shaped, implemented and grown by the people.
• Most SMEs have their own constraints in attracting desired talent. But this can be addressed by helping people enhance requisite capabilities. Some leaders at SMEs think that enablement is a cost and what if people leave after all that cost and effort? But what if you don’t help enablement and they stay? What if your competitiveness diminishes?
• It is important that SMEs periodically examine their competitiveness in a critical manner. Get external help for such review as well as post review actions to strengthen their position. This may involve various aspects but the common factor shall remain – people. Every thing said and done, people make the difference.
• Enhancist’s passionate and highly experienced consultants will help appropriately to enhance success.