Steer where you want to go
Photo Credit: Chris Peeters, Pexels
Winter has come with a vengeance, and so have the hazards of winter driving. In defensive driving courses, the advice you get when your vehicle loses control and goes into a skid is to "Steer where you want to go." This advice parallels corporate strategy and leadership decisions in the workplace.
Like winter driving, unforeseen challenges in life or business can lead us into a skid. Surprisingly, the strategies to regain control share striking similarities between steering a vehicle and steering a corporate direction.
Prevention is the Key: Before you drive, you can use a checklist to verify if you are ready for a trip and test the road conditions in a controlled situation. In business, preparation involves analyzing if your business is ready for the unexpected. Using tools like a SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats), you can explore and test your corporate strategies against the dynamic business and market landscape. Perhaps the right answer is not to go down a certain road at all!
Recognize the Warning Signs: Winter brings many hazardous conditions, including snow, ice, freezing rain, high winds, and frigid temperatures. Evaluating these hazards early and adjusting your behaviour is critical to preventing a skid. Recognizing warning signs in your company is just as crucial. Cash flow problems, declining sales, high employee turnover, and customer complaints indicate that corrective action is needed before the loss of control.
Accelerate and Brake Gradually: Driving smoothly on slippery roads mirrors the need for a gradual approach in business. Abrupt acceleration (expansion) or sudden braking (cost-cutting) can lead to a skid. Instead, take measured steps to maintain control.
Look and Steer Where You Want to Go: If you lose control and go into a skid, the fundamental principle of steering towards your intended direction holds true in both business and a vehicle. In a skid, focus and steer in the direction where you want the car to go; overcorrection can cause a spin, and undercorrection will keep you heading in the direction of trouble. In business, this means keeping your vision and goals in sight, even when the present seems uncertain.
Don't Panic, Stay Calm: The first rule is to remain calm when faced with a skid, whether on icy roads or in a corporate crisis. Panic exacerbates the situation. In a vehicle, overreacting can be disastrous. Similarly, a calm and collected mind in business is better equipped to navigate challenges.
Focus on People: Whether in a car or a boardroom, people are the core. A struggling business often reflects a people-related issue – a breakdown in training, communication, complacency, or misalignment. Start with people; a car doesn't get into a skid alone, and a business doesn't get into a crisis without people. Success or failure is fundamentally about how the people (including yourself) deal with the situation.
Be Strategic: Whether on the road or in business, having a clear strategy helps provide direction and momentum in the direction you want to go. When driving in winter, many contributing factors can lead to a skid, so it is essential to be strategic and make the right vehicle and driving choices to prevent a serious incident. In the insightful book "Playing to Win – How Strategy Really Works" by A.G. Lafley & Roger L. Martin, the authors emphasize that strategy is a coordinated and integrated set of choices, including a winning aspiration, where to play, how to win, core capabilities, and management systems that will set a business in the right direction creating a competitive advantage and superior company.
The parallels between handling a skid on the road and steering a business through tough times are striking. By learning from one, we can gain insights that strengthen our capabilities in the other. Much like the open highway, the road to success in business is unpredictable, but with the right strategies, it can be navigated successfully. So, buckle up and drive your business with the same finesse you would your vehicle on a slippery road.
Safe travels, on both the road and your business journey!