Behave every day as if you were in a corporate crisis!

What if companies acted daily as if they were in an existential crisis? They would work vigilantly, efficiently, and customer-oriented. Find out how to establish an agile and future-proof corporate culture in this blog.

Join me on a cruise to the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, or wherever. A rescue exercise is included in the program for every ship adventure. How does the alarm system work? Where are the life jackets? Which exit do I have to take? Which lifeboat is assigned to me? Annoying. No, it’s vital, as we have known since the sinking of the supposedly unsinkable Titanic.

In your daily life, things always run smoothly in your company. All decisions are made consciously, and every process is thought through to the smallest detail. It’s a beautiful fairy tale. Yes, it is.

In the last blog, I showed you warning signals that indicate that your company is in a crisis or is heading straight for one. This blog post is about what may seem to be small things that will help you avoid slipping into a business crisis – precisely because you have decided to live every day as if you were in an existential crisis. It’s about consciously deploying your entrepreneurial resources and focusing on urgency, necessity, and customer satisfaction. Find out the three points you must establish in your corporate culture here.

1. Cost-benefit analysis in the company:
Put every action to the test!

Imagine you enter your company and ask your employees about the purpose of a regular report. The answer? “We’ve always done it this way.” Who reads that? “No idea”. Often, nobody reads this report, and yet it is produced day after day. You have to question all processes in your company again and again: does this action add existential value for us, or are we wasting resources?

We’ve always done it this way!
But why? What benefit does it bring?
This question is essential in corporate management!

The key is to question routines and eliminate unnecessary processes critically. If your answering machine hasn’t received a call for years, why is it still there? How often are forms filled out that no one ever reads? How usually is the information passed on twice or three times? The point of a thriving corporate culture is not to please everyone but to do things that move your company forward.

2. Efficient use of resources in the company:
Distinguish reasonable costs from bad costs!

Not every cost-saving measure is a good one. For example, buying 100,000 sheets of paper at a low price initially seems economical. But how long will it take to use this amount? Do we even need that much? Or could we manage with less?

The CFO asks the CEO: “What happens if we invest in the development of our employees and they leave?”
The CEO replies: “What happens if we don’t, and they stay?”

When I am called into companies, I often experience panic-driven savings targets are made, e.g., “reduce expenses by 10 percent”. But any savings won’t help you if savings are made in the wrong places – for example, in the training of your employees. The added value of well-trained employees far outweighs any short-term savings. Make targeted and sensible investments. It’s simple: bad costs do not create any real added value for your company – and this is precisely where you can make adequate savings.

3. Customer orientation in the company:
Use every conversation as an opportunity!

Every (really every!) employee in your company, regardless of their position, contributes to customer satisfaction. Every conversation with a (potential) customer allows your company to present itself and leave a lasting impression. You decide whether this impression is good or bad. Customers want to feel they are taken seriously, which works best when their concerns are top priorities.

Stand out as a company. There is already enough average.

An example: A customer reports a problem with their washing machine to your company. The friendly response from the service employee, the specific call-back from the technician, and the open communication in the event of any delays create trust. If the customer needs a new appliance later, they will most likely remember your company because of the exceptional service. Then, it usually doesn’t matter whether your competitors are cheaper.

Customer orientation must be practiced by all employees in any company that wants to be successful in the long term. Everyone is responsible for taking customer concerns seriously, whether in the IT department or at reception. “I’m not responsible for that” is not in customer discussion. The customer is the most important thing!

Fazit: Verhalten Sie sich jeden Tag so, als wären Sie in einer Unternehmenskrise!

Companies must not wait until it is too late to react. Like a rescue drill on a cruise ship, you should be prepared as an entrepreneur, even if you don’t feel an immediate crisis. The point is not to expect the worst every day but to be aware that crises occur and that measures can be practiced in advance. Staff appraisals are a valuable tool in this context. Don’t wait until a problem becomes apparent – stay in dialog with your employees and customers. Every process, every contact, and every investment must be geared towards the added value for your company – this is the only way to achieve long-term success.

Just as everyone knows where the life jackets are after a rescue drill on a cruise ship, I show companies how to prevent crises or what to do in an emergency. Don’t do what the Titanic did; believe that you are unsinkable.

Find new paths together.
Think boldly – dare to change.
Alexander d´Huc