ccsboardroom blog

It’s been a while since I wrote any blog posts …. Mostly I’ve been side-tracked by business opportunities and the negotiation of a new partner into the CCS business. I’ll welcome and introduce Joel Kaufman to you a little later. Firstly, I want to reflect on what we are seeing happening to organisations as the 2009 journey through the GFC continues …… there appears to be a disturbing pattern that is having a self fulfilling result. Let me explain further ….

Many clients still continue to “batten down the hatches” with cost containment initiatives, reduction in capital expenditure and lay-offs. Naturally these initiatives have a place in the survival and to ensure the profitability of a company. What also seems to be a trend however is that this cost management focus is seen as an overriding strategy, rather than one of the significant number of strategies that ought to be considered by any company.

Worldwide, employees have now been subject to almost 18 months of conservative management tactics. Their fear and anxiety continue to grow, about their job security, pay levels and, this for me is the current issue, the continued lack of strategic direction or leadership from the CEO and senior management. Many workers now understand the realistic need for prudent decision making, considered expenditure and rationalised risks when it comes to innovation and new product development. What they don’t relate to, is the vacuum created when, repeated rhetoric about staying in business or ‘treading water’, is all they hear from senior executives.

Our clients, where continued reminders are communicated about the direction and strategic position, have enabled their people to divert their negative feelings and anxiety by focusing on opportunities that are tangible and within the grasp of the team. Helping the team realise these small wins, that re-inforce the overall strategy, is bringing a halo effect of positive support for management with a level of employee engagement well beyond those companies that are simply ‘bunkering down’.
First-hand experience of this behaviour has allowed CCS to lead several leadership teams through a strategy process that explores a balance of ‘financial conservatism’ with the key areas that ensure internal staff engagement and customer responsiveness. Ensuring we have a motivated team, although to most counter intuitive while business is tough, will un-lock awesome potential to grab market share and re-engineer broken processes.

Announcing CCS’ new business partner:
Joel Kaufman brings with him a terrific dimension of business skill, expertise and integrity to the CCS consulting disciplines. Joel, having built a successful research and business intelligence company in South Africa, that provides a range of related ‘measurement’, ‘brand equity’ and ‘benchmarking’ services, immigrated to Australia in 2004. Joel, his lovely wife Robyn, twin boys and two teenage daughters, have made Sydney their home.

Working together with Joel on several projects over the last four months has allowed CCS to add value in a unique manner, where the commitment to excellence has ensured terrific project success. I am delighted to welcome Joel to CCS and the opportunity of introducing him to all our clients.