KOCH Consulting Group Turn-Around

If your revenues are flat and your business is sagging, think about this...

A man named John was walking down the street and fell into a deep hole. He tried for hours to climb out but couldn’t. He could see people walking by and even though he yelled and screamed for help, no one would stop. Then, he saw his doctor passing by. “Doc!!!” he yelled. His doctor stopped and peered down the hole as John yelled, “Doc, it’s me, John. Can you help me?” His doctor looked down the hole and yelled back, “Of course I can help John, after all, I’m a doctor.” The doctor promptly wrote out a prescription for anti-anxiety medication and threw it down the hole.

After a little while longer, and still no one stopping to help, John noticed his attorney walking past. “Counselor!!!” he yelled. The attorney stopped and looked down the hole as John yelled, “Counselor, it’s me, John. Can you help me?” The attorney looked down the hole and yelled back, “Of course John, I can help. After all, I’m an attorney.” The attorney promptly wrote out a lawsuit against the city for the danger created by the hole in the sidewalk, filed it in the courthouse across the street, came back and threw a time-stamped copy of the complaint down the hole.

After a little while longer, and still no one stopping to help, he noticed his minister walking past. “Reverend!!!” he yelled. The minister stopped and looked down the hole as John yelled, “Reverend, it’s me, John. Can you help me?” The minister yelled back, “Of course son, I can help. After all, I’m a minister.” The minister promptly wrote out a prayer on a piece of paper and threw it down the hole.

John continued to try climbing out of the hole, but to no avail. Finally, he noticed a friend walking by. “Bob!!!” he yelled. His friend stopped and looked down the hole as John yelled, “Bob, it’s me, John. Can you help me?” His friend yelled back, “How the heck did you get down there?” John replied, “What difference does it make! I just need your help getting out.”

To John’s surprise, his friend then jumped down into the hole. Now, with both men at the bottom of the hole, John looked at his friend and said, “You idiot, why did you jump down here? Now we’re both stuck down here in this hole!”

John’s friend looked back at him and calmly said, “Yeah, I know. But, I’ve been down in this hole before, and I know the way out. …Original story author unknown

We’re not here to coddle you, offer you prayers, medical advice or legal counsel. Rather, we jump down in your hole with you. We’re at the bottom of the hole - together. We’ve been down in the hole you’re in before and we know the way out.

We learn the mechanics of business in the classroom. However, we can only learn the dynamics of business on the battlefield through experience. The global economy affects every business on the planet in some form or another. When the effect becomes dramatic, it frequently shows in a company’s P&L statement.

In many instances, businesses need to reinvent themselves. This process almost invariably requires a fresh and independent perspective. Someone else needs to look at your business from the outside.

Although it is almost human nature to resist or even sabotage change, if a person wants to continue to move forward in life, then they must continuously be receptive to self-reinvention at any time.

You’re not alone when it comes to self-reinvention. In fact, you’re in the company of some very successful businesses. Take a look at just a few companies that would have faced oblivion, but for conquering the challenges of reinvention.

Those companies that embrace the challenge and reinvent frequently succeed. Those that don’t, become a page in history.

Samsung’s chairman, Lee Kun Hee, preaches a philosophy of “perpetual crisis.” In a crisis, one must innovate to survive, and Samsung has done extremely well by innovating as if the company’s life were always at stake.

Don’t fear the crisis, but rather, embrace the challenge that is the genesis of rebirth.

As businesses grow and become self funding, it is not uncommon to see them and many of its personnel reach a comfort level. Companies become overstaffed with duplicative functions, people frequently fall only within a very narrowly defined set of duties, and companies begin funding symptoms as opposed to practicing a disciplined agenda of identifying the underlying problems, coordinating the necessary resources to solve the problems, implementing and executing on a plan, and ultimately reaching resolution.

That is the core of reinvention and growth.

Samsung’s chairman, Lee Kun Hee (Ret.)