When was the last time you asked your customers what they really need or which solutions or additional functions from your product range would bring added value to your customers?
«Don't forget, AMAZON has only been so successful because they simply responded to us customers. The fact that the associated industry was turned upside down is not AMAZON’s ‘fault’ but rather the inability of the associated industry to listen to us customers.»
How do I adapt my products to offer real customer benefits? Additinale technical features do not make a successful new product.
What about company leadership and managerial competence?
The introduction of flexible, dynamic and agile work processes also changes the demands placed on management. It requires a new way of thinking. Companies need to take a close look at the competence of their management team and, if necessary, invest in them with specifically measures. There is a direct correlation between management’s agility and skill and the success of the company.
Are employee / company goals, responsibilities and decision-making powers clearly and transparently given? How much information from the employees actually reaches your management?
What are your “times to market”, R&D processes and development cycles?
Whoever comes first secures the largest market share for the longest time.
How quickly do you react to market changes, mega trends or even simply to your competitors?
How do you access new markets?
Diversify your product range and adapt to your existing markets if necessary.
Do your current products also have a place in new markets?
What about the digitalization of your product/service?
Can your products be used digitally? Is it already possible to control or maintain them via the Internet? Can your product range or parts of it be represented digitally? What about the digital communication capability of your products? Have you ever implemented new services through digitalized channels?
Do you work with creativity techniques such as Design Thinking, Innovation Lab or Scrum? Such playfully designed techniques, which can be learned and trained, have great potential to advance a company's innovative strength. But it is also important to provide the space and resources for this.
A good team meets these 5 requirements:
Or does your company reality look more like this?
The digital competence of employees and the flexibility of a company have an impact on success in the medium and long term.
Are you consistently nurturing the digital skills of your team?
Do you encourage the digitalization of internal workflows? The potential efficiency gains for your company are enormous, but your employees must not be left behind.
Is there a policy of open communication in the company? Are employees involved in decision-making processes? Can employees share their own ideas for the company (process optimization, new products, new markets, etc.)? Do employees regularly receive open and constructive feedback. Or, better yet, are you able to move from feed-back to feed-forward? Are the needs of employees addressed individually? Are they continuously empowered, trained and also given responsibility commensurate with their individual abilities?
Flat hierarchies help a company to be flexible. They make a significant contribution to reducing internal resistance in all areas of the company and promoting the permeability of change. They also foster motivation and the courage to develop new ideas and explore different paths. They are a guarantee for the most direct level of dialogue possible. It is worth taking a closer look at the established hierarchy levels. Cost aspects, short decision-making processes and faster reaction times play a significant role in the future of the company.
Without mistakes there is no innovation. Companies that see mistakes not as a setback but as an opportunity for the future are on the right track. Having a positive error culture and the willingness to accept mistakes enable creative experimentation and improvisation. And that's what we need in order to be able to react flexibly to new challenges.
Agile teams that take on personal responsibility, work largely autonomously. These teams continuously analyse, improve and streamline processes are not only more motivated, but they also help the company make major strides towards being more flexible.
This means that companies should not hesitate to develop more agile teams. What this requires, however, is a corresponding willingness to invest.
Mobile working has seen a significant boost due to the covid-19 pandemic. What is important to know is that being able to work from home and have flexible working hours is good for both employees and the company! The positive effect of a flexible workplace and working hours regulations for employees on the general flexibility of a company and thus on its potential for success has been proven to be statistically significant. Remembering this is key when it comes to retaining employees and being attractive as an employer.
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1900-44), French aviator and writer
Pleiger Consulting e.U.
Johannesstraße 50
A-2344 Maria Enzersdorf, Austria
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