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ACHIEVE Group CEO Joshua Yim
recommends eight tips to get your organisation through tough
times
STRONG leadership is never more crucial
than in trying times. To help your organisation emerge from
an economic downturn unscathed, practise these initiatives:
1. Embrace the core mission
Every company has a core mission anchored around its purpose
for being in business – the purpose of its existence.
Living the core mission should begin with a mission statement
that is not just hung up on the boardroom wall but also
has everyone in the company understanding and embracing
it, from senior management to newly joined junior staff.
2. Inspire a clear vision
Why is it important to have a vision? Because the clearer
the future that is mapped out, the more defined your actions
and the more specific your decision geared towards it. A
clear vision also inspires people to break new ground, like
an athlete who constantly strives to break his record and
achieve new heights. Everyone wants to be challenged and
excel beyond the status quo. Thus, mission and vision statements
are like guiding lights that engage people, propelling them
forward even through tough times and crises.
3. Build a strong culture
When you have enough people embracing certain philosophies
and practising a particular style of doing things, that
then becomes a culture – for better or worse. Leaders
can shape an organisation’s culture through strong-arm
policies or by remaining silent in the face of poor management
practices. Or, they can shape a culture anchored on values
such as the pursuit of progression, integrity in business,
excellence in work and respect for all.
4. Create a high-performance organisation
To have the organisation performing at optimal levels, it
is necessary to have clear accountability at various levels
through specific key performance indicators (KPIs). As companies
aspire to be not just “good” but “great”,
there must be high performance standards that everyone in
the organisation understands and is expected to uphold.
5. Get the right people on board
People are not the most valuable asset, but the right people
are. There are employees who may not suit your company’s
culture as they have values that differ from your company’s,
or they turn in performances that fall below the firm’s
expectations. In such scenarios, the senior management may
need to find them alternative roles.
6. Encourage the pursuit of progression
Companies need to be growing constantly, and that means
all employees need to embrace a mindset geared towards change.
Leaders must continuously build a culture that challenges
everyone to practise new approaches to doing things.
7. Take calculated risks
An organisation’s leaders need to take risks all the
time to keep the company growing. Commission research and
gather statistics to substantiate business decisions, but
do not overdo it to the point that it causes the managers
to suffer from “analysis paralysis”. This will
cause them to become too afraid to make any decisions. The
mark of a great company is that it is always prepared to
seize opportunities when they arise.
8. Have determination and commitment
Finally, encourage a “never-say-die
attitude”. There will be good times and bad, but it
is perseverance that will determine whether a company succeeds
or fails.
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