93% of Companies Won’t Be Ready For the Economic Upturn!

93% of companies will make three fatal competitive mistakes and won't be ready for the economic upturn says international business psychologist Ian Percy. This deadly ‘wait and see’ philosophy and lack of leadership courage spells doom for a lot of companies even in a strong economy.

(PRWEB) September 8, 2003

For Immediate Release:

Scottsdale, Arizona,(PRWEB) Sept. 8, 2003 - Are we really a nation of cowardly corporate whiners? Do corporations think part of the American Dream is that they deserve profitability regardless of how poorly managed they are? Will some companies fail even in a great economy? That’s pretty well the picture, says Ian Percy an organizational psychologist and partner in the consulting firm of Visionary Oasis,Inc. (http://www.VisionaryOasis.com)

Percy estimates that 93% of companies are sitting around moping about the economy, blaming the government, or even blaming their own customers. With almost every indicator pointing to a major turn-around in the economy, you’d think we’d see tremendous excitement as corporations ready themselves for new opportunity. Not so, insists Doug Hatfield, another Visionary Oasis partner. There is a deadly ‘wait and see’ philosophy out there and this lack of leadership courage will spell doom for a lot of companies even in a strong economy. Having good intentions and even working harder at what you’ve always done won’t do a darn thing for you, he says.

Visionary Oasis specializes in helping small and mid-sized companies develop profitable competitive strategies. We’re teaching Davids how to fight against Goliaths, says Percy. Strangely, the Scottsdale based company isn’t interested in working with the 93% who most need their help. Those companies you often can’t help, Percy points out. They’re sitting in the locker room and won’t even put on their running shoes until they hear the starting gun go off. By then it’s too late. We provide competitive advise to the 7% innovators and early adopters who want the inside lane and who are prepared to race way ahead of their competitors. These are the brave companies who say “Me first” not “I’ll wait and see.”

Marketing guru Seth Godin, author of “Purple Cow: transform your business by being remarkable” agrees. Playing it safe only seems to be the way to avoid failure, he points out, when in reality it is the way to failure. “Safe is risky” is the hard-hitting message of his book; you’ve got to be remarkable if you want to triumph in today’s marketplace.

Percy says there are three competitive mistakes for which there is no forgiveness. The first is the failure to realize that building your competitive readiness starts internally, not externally. Many corporations think their primary competition comes from other companies. Not true, Percy insists. Most defeat is self-inflicted because of issues like poor internal controls, misapplied technology or lack of clear vision. You can’t fight an external competitor when you’re spending all your time and money putting out fires in your own house.

The second mistake is the failure to take a big picture approach. Companies try to “duct tape” or piecemeal their way to efficiency, trying all kinds of scattered things hoping something will work. What is missing is usually a comprehensive strategy that integrates all the essential components of profitable competitive leadership. Most failures, says Hatfield, are attributable to poor competitive strategy, or having no strategy at all. If small and mid-sized companies develop this kind of strategy, he adds, they could kick some serious butt and sustain significantly higher profitability.

Third is the failure to act. When things are tough some companies don’t want to take any risks. When things are good they don’t think they need to do anything different. Add this up and you get deadly inertia. Typically there are endless discussions about opportunities for profitable change but courageous decisions to act are few, observes Hatfield.

Visionary Oasis does not work on a proposal by proposal basis like many consulting companies. That approach is absurdly expensive and often ineffective, says Percy. With world-class expertise in critical areas such as supply chain, manufacturing, technology, business processes and competitive intelligence, they act both as ongoing competitive advisors as well provide project management for the strategy implementation. The firm is based in Arizona, with partners located across the country.