Are Aust business owners ostrishes?
It was great to read Peter Switzer’s (www.switzer.com.au) column in the Weekend Australian where he reinforced a view I have held for a long time. That being the number one reason why businesses fail is; “management failing to confront the brutal facts about the business”. He referred to Jim Collins’s book, Good to Great where it was found that this lack of accepting and confronting the facts of a business’s perfoemance (no matter how good or bad) was one of THE major causes of failure. Its what I call the ostrich management style.
I am constantly told by friends and acquaintances that “such and such” company really could do with my help - and in many cases they are correct, the business would certainly benefit from applying the principals I use to turn businesses around. However, there is no benefit to either the business owner or myself, if the business owner is using the ostrich method of management. They clearly need to understand the brutal facts of their business before my techniques will deliver results for them.
So if you know of any ostriches who have lifted their head out of the sand recently and now understand the facts of their business - tell them to call me.
May 25th, 2010 at 11:21 am
Again, new to the country, when I hear about any management being ‘ostriches’ or ‘not getting it’, then one needs to ask oneself “whose fault is that?”. Is it management’s fault?, or are we failing to communicate our message appropriately.
From my personal experience in other southern hemisphere countries, once you understand the client’s / company’s “hot buttons” or critical success factors, and can communicate in their industry specific language, then you are halfway there.
Yes, I have heard that Australia is the ‘lucky’ country, so perhaps management are relying on ‘luck’ to see them out. But, with global economies and competition is more and more business sectors, perhaps ‘luck’ will haveless and less to do with it?