Have the actions of Truss & Kwarteng in the UK increased the chances of a low-tax-fuelled growth, or of a debt and low-confidence fuelled recession?
More importantly, whatever your opinion, have you figured out what that means for your company?
Because if you’re running an SME in the UK today, although conjecture on the Big Gamble is all over the press, we have some much more real volatility and unpredictability to work through at a micro level. Meaning at the level of our company and teams.
Here’s what I’d be thinking through:
1) Are your operational foundations firm enough? Is the day-to-day of selling / making / delivering / invoicing / collecting running smoothly enough to give you space to react or pre-empt? If that day-to-day only happens with your involvement in selling or firefighting, then the answer is no.
2) Do you have clarity as to what triggers to look for in order to take positive or protective action? You may find ourselves in a scenario where there is opportunity to serve and grow, or where you need to retrench. Do you have clarity and a process in place to see when you need to do what? And are your leadership team’s decision-making muscles trained in knowing what to do?
3) Do you have a team, a structure, a culture and a process in place that allows you to both follow a long-term direction and respond to near-term nudges? Can you consistently build for the long-term, or is your team wedded to just reacting to whatever’s hit your radar this week?
4) Can you do all the above while being true to your values? Can you take whatever action you need to take – positive or protective – in a way that is aligned with what you stand for? Can you systematically do the right thing regardless of whatever opportunity or hit you take?
There are things we can do to both maximise our chances of continuing through whatever’s coming, and of coming out stronger. But that requires an approach, some discipline and intentionality.
How's 2023 started for you? Is strategy consistently being executed? Are you not having to firefight or get involved in more deals than you should? We're looking for a group of 5 CEOs (10 to 100 employees) to join us on this workshop to talk through how to make your strategy, purpose and values happen. Join us.