[/caption]
This is a follow-up post to the previous post on “Investing in Adaptability”, and I will highlight 4 aspects which a Company needs in order to adapt and survive to ensure the corporation can prosper and carry on in the future. These are taken from the book ‘The Living Company” by Arie De Gaus and he highlights the four factors as follows:-
1) Sensitivity to Operating Environment – Companies which can react fast and decisively in the face of changing circumstances will have a better chance of survival as they evolve not just their business model, but also their products and services to suit customers’ needs and wants. Companies should constantly be on the ball and alert about the changing economy, and how the various factors which affect their industry come together to produce subtle changes in the environment which may cause their competitive advantage to either strengthen, or erode. For example, a company in the oil and gas industry has to keep up with trends in oil prices, as well as E&P activities of oil majors to see if they can secure business, and how best they can serve these customers and in what ways. Companies should also be alert of how they can offer new products or services or to re-package them (as Ezra had) to make their existing offering more attractive to potential customers. There could be shifts in their environment which caused them to react in certain ways; and to be pro-active and a first-mover is always more advantageous than being a mere follower. A firm has to be innovative and to be able to anticipate changes before they occur; a passive Board of Directors and Management Team will always lag behind the competition as they are unable to innovate to stay ahead.
2) Cohesion and Identity – This is more an internal trait which will permeate the entire organization and is part of the overall corporate culture. I believe that companies which can articulate a coherent set of procedures, processes and guidelines to all staff concerned is in a better position to forge a distinct and clear path to corporate success. This is because the goals and objectives of the organization are aligned and with all employees in agreement and understand, this facilitates inter-personal working relationships and helps to create better efficiencies at work. An example is Swiber’s “Cause No Harm” policy which is instructed to all staff and is already assimilated as part of the corporate culture (one can visit Swiber’s website for more details). A company which implements such a policy (as well as related, similar policies) can help to create a shared corporate identity and foster cohesiveness. Read more...[caption id="attachment_3193" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Photo by Monsieur Gordon"][/caption]
This is a follow-up post to the previous post on “Investing in Adaptability”, and I will highlight 4 aspects which a Company needs in order to adapt and survive to ensure the corporation can prosper and carry on in the future. These are taken from the book ‘The Living Company” by Arie De Gaus and he highlights the four factors as follows:-
1) Sensitivity to Operating Environment – Companies which can react fast and decisively in the face of changing circumstances will have a better chance of survival as they evolve not just their business model, but also their products and services to suit customers’ needs and wants. Companies should constantly be on the ball and alert about the changing economy, and how the various factors which affect their industry come together to produce subtle changes in the environment which may cause their competitive advantage to either strengthen, or erode. For example, a company in the oil and gas industry has to keep up with trends in oil prices, as well as E&P activities of oil majors to see if they can secure business, and how best they can serve these customers and in what ways. Companies should also be alert of how they can offer new products or services or to re-package them (as Ezra had) to make their existing offering more attractive to potential customers. There could be shifts in their environment which caused them to react in certain ways; and to be pro-active and a first-mover is always more advantageous than being a mere follower. A firm has to be innovative and to be able to anticipate changes before they occur; a passive Board of Directors and Management Team will always lag behind the competition as they are unable to innovate to stay ahead.
2) Cohesion and Identity – This is more an internal trait which will permeate the entire organization and is part of the overall corporate culture. I believe that companies which can articulate a coherent set of procedures, processes and guidelines to all staff concerned is in a better position to forge a distinct and clear path to corporate success. This is because the goals and objectives of the organization are aligned and with all employees in agreement and understand, this facilitates inter-personal working relationships and helps to create better efficiencies at work. An example is Swiber’s “Cause No Harm” policy which is instructed to all staff and is already assimilated as part of the corporate culture (one can visit Swiber’s website for more details). A company which implements such a policy (as well as related, similar policies) can help to create a shared corporate identity and foster cohesiveness. Read more...
[/caption]
This is a follow-up post to the previous post on “Investing in Adaptability”, and I will highlight 4 aspects which a Company needs in order to adapt and survive to ensure the corporation can prosper and carry on in the future. These are taken from the book ‘The Living Company” by Arie De Gaus and he highlights the four factors as follows:-
1) Sensitivity to Operating Environment – Companies which can react fast and decisively in the face of changing circumstances will have a better chance of survival as they evolve not just their business model, but also their products and services to suit customers’ needs and wants. Companies should constantly be on the ball and alert about the changing economy, and how the various factors which affect their industry come together to produce subtle changes in the environment which may cause their competitive advantage to either strengthen, or erode. For example, a company in the oil and gas industry has to keep up with trends in oil prices, as well as E&P activities of oil majors to see if they can secure business, and how best they can serve these customers and in what ways. Companies should also be alert of how they can offer new products or services or to re-package them (as Ezra had) to make their existing offering more attractive to potential customers. There could be shifts in their environment which caused them to react in certain ways; and to be pro-active and a first-mover is always more advantageous than being a mere follower. A firm has to be innovative and to be able to anticipate changes before they occur; a passive Board of Directors and Management Team will always lag behind the competition as they are unable to innovate to stay ahead.
2) Cohesion and Identity – This is more an internal trait which will permeate the entire organization and is part of the overall corporate culture. I believe that companies which can articulate a coherent set of procedures, processes and guidelines to all staff concerned is in a better position to forge a distinct and clear path to corporate success. This is because the goals and objectives of the organization are aligned and with all employees in agreement and understand, this facilitates inter-personal working relationships and helps to create better efficiencies at work. An example is Swiber’s “Cause No Harm” policy which is instructed to all staff and is already assimilated as part of the corporate culture (one can visit Swiber’s website for more details). A company which implements such a policy (as well as related, similar policies) can help to create a shared corporate identity and foster cohesiveness. Read more...
