What factors affect the agility of a business? Is it the simple case that if you are running a small business, then you are agile?
I don’t believe so, as there are other really critical factors that mean that a larger business can also be agile whereas a smaller business can also be slow and unresponsive.
For example, in order to be agile, a business needs to be able to make decisions rapidly and have an environment where staff are empowered. The culture needs to be one that focusses on the customer as their purpose, rather than the customer as an inconvenience and an interruption and a source of frustration. Believe me when I say that I have experienced senior business leaders speaking about their customers in very negative terms, and bemoaning their approach to suppliers.
Ownership of issues is also a factor that is critical in ensuring your business can be agile or not. Large or small, having simple processes that ensure that the business does not simply rely on people passing emails to each other and responding in a timely fashion, is critical. A customer with a requirement is only interested in a partnership with another organisation able to understand them and an ability to execute.
So in summary the following are necessary to enable your business to operate with agility:
> Customer focus
> Empowerment
> Decision making
> Process – simple and effective.
> Ownership
And an agile business, like a successful sports team, needs a high degree of collaboration and teamwork focus.
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Published by Graham Bunting
I have been around a while and seen some stuff for sure. I have experienced some good bad, indifferent and some downright fabulous.
I am still hugely motivated to get up every day and be curious. I love tech and business and most of all dogs oh and people ;-)
Having been in sales most of my working life I have a real interest in the art and science and am a committed lifelong learner - constantly frustrating my kids with my stock phrase "every day is a school day"
Personally, I’m a husband to one, and father to five amazing children (three of them are no longer children, but independent adults) and my golden lab – Archie, who is always pleased to see me.
I was blessed with becoming a Granddad in February 2021 (a very proud and somewhat besotted one) and another grandson arrived in October 2022 to keep their parents busy and for me to spoil.
I am also a mad keen lover of the oval ball game and a lifelong supporter of Leicester Tigers. As an Englishman, that's therefore England at a national level and the British and Irish Lions.
If I can be of service in any way including any area of developing a channel sales and support business or ecosystem partnerships, and or sales coaching or development, you can find me at the link below, and contact me via the form also.
One of my favourite "quotes" is
Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well-preserved body. But rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, with a beer in one hand, shouting "Whoo, what a ride!!"
Views here are 100% my own. https://grahambunting.com/findme/
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Graham Bunting -The Catalyst 