How you function in business depends on your ideology (ideas that a theory is based on) and disposition (a person’s natural qualities of character). Ultimately businesses are run by people and as such, human nature plays a major role in the success of the business. Specifically, the degree of damage caused personally to the business owner/director and their family can be attributed to the delay in implementing change.
Procrastination is not a non-decision, it’s a decision; a decision to do nothing!!
Two things are important, first that you take corrective action quickly and second, that you are truthful with those you take into your confidence (even at the expense, with hindsight, of being embarrassed about past decisions made).
Most of us who have been in business for any length of time have (at some stage) been in a position similar to what you may be facing. There is nothing you reveal to us about your situation that will make us feel less about you as a person, but the complete TRUTH is important in order to move forward based on a correct assessment of the facts as they are. The worst case scenario is to move forward based on an incorrect view, which inevitably will only waste valuable time and deplete resources.
For turnaround to be successful, or to achieve an orderly exit, time is a crucial factor, delay can mean the difference between recovery and regression.
Remember, if nothing changes, nothing changes.
A company may require the services of a turnaround specialist for a number of reasons,if you are anyway embarrassed what others may think about you needing the services of CRA, consider it part of your annual review!!
During the successful years of the Boral Timber Division, the CEO of Boral was Sir Eric Neal. In an address he told us that business is like war, while people don’t get killed, they certainly do get hurt.In terms of SME’s, this statement has more reality to it than we like to think. People do get hurt; financially and emotionally due to shame, lost expectations and lost hope. In SME’s the outcome can be much worse. While the inference to being “killed” infers bloodshed and death at the hands of another, while this may not be so in business, people do die due to stress related issues, or even worse; at times they take their own life.
The good news (that some may never hear) is, there are always options to the way forward.