Today I met with a business owner whose company is solidly positioned – in the past. She knows it and wants to do something about it. That puts her a step ahead of most business leaders. And, a step ahead is a good place to start.
Her challenge is to transform the business from a surviving “Mom and Pop shop” to a thriving professional services company. She is in business transition. An OBGYN friend of mine once said, “Transition (the time the baby spends in the birth canal) is the hardest part of childbirth for infant and mother.” From what I’ve seen as a witness in the delivery room, he’s probably right but he’s there to help.
The challenge of transitioning a company is found in knowing where you’re headed and having a plan that connects you to the target. Mom and the baby instinctively know which direction things are going. But Mom has thoughts about the future long before delivery. She dreams of what the child might become. She names the baby and sets her mind and heart on loving and caring for it. Soon Mom and child, begin to live the plan.
Likewise, the business owner casts a vision for the business she has created; the brand that she has developed. Her transition challenge is found in knowing where today’s version of the brand ends and where the brand of the future begins. Her instincts are good. Change is inevitable so she sets out to take charge of the change.
Perhaps our business owner can think a little like Mom. Consider the business brand, imagine what it might be in the future and make plans to realize the goal. She can start with communicating that message to all affected parties. Today, while there are more venues than ever to convey a message – to connect people to the vision you have for your business – it still requires a strategy.
Mom and baby get a little support from men and women like the OBGYN friend of mine. The business owner we met today will get a little support from Bigfish. Call us the brand doctors.
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