As business leaders look to 2023 goals and benchmarks, external economic pressures continue from all sides. This makes many leaders uneasy as it tightens credit standards for banks.Industries collapse, commodity prices fluctuate, and inflation continues to rise. In addition to ongoing stock market volatility, recruiting and retaining qualified employees is also a major concern, regardless of industry.
Feeling insecure will only increase your risk of making rash and reckless decisions. It is therefore more important than ever to understand these external influences, how they impact your own operations, and how to effectively pivot to adapt in 2023. Topics business leaders need to know to increase cash flow, improve profitability, and positively impact employees in the coming year.
act positively
I recently wrote some articles Questions Business Leaders Can Ask to Stay Proactive in Times of UncertaintyBecause you can’t control external publicityNaturally, we need to double down on what we can control—how we prepare and respond to them. In one of his situations with a family business client, a weekly one-hour management meeting was held with the goal of addressing some of the aforementioned challenges, and how they focused and targeted their efforts. I talked about how Through these weekly mandatory meetings, they increased accountability and actionable goals. A careful weekly meeting keeps people sharp and focused. Who wants to be deliberately unprepared?
By creating a standard cadence, they were able to maintain extreme focus and never go more than a week without being addressed. For example, when the cost of shipping a product to a particular region increased by 5x domestically and 10x internationally, they could actively work together to decide in real time when to ship. rice field. By focusing on communication and creating consistent open forums, we have thrived during uncertain and difficult times.
Anticipating staffing issues
Whether in a small family office or a large multinational corporation, employee retention and recruitment continue to be a problem for both skilled and less skilled positions. On both sides, one of the root causes can be the increasing conflict between communication and role and expectation level setting.
If you really want to proactively address staffing issues, start by talking to your team members and stakeholders.youKnow or understand if there is a problem unless someone speaks up. Once you know the existing problem, you can take steps to fix it.Otherwise, it either guesses the address or doesn’t specify the addressSing real problems. There is no substitute for honesty and integrity, and it is too often forgotten. We are all smarter than we are allowed to be. Without communication, there is a danger that people will make up their own interpretations instead of providing factual evidence.
Leaders also need a better understanding of what team members need to be successful. If your employees are doing a good job, let them know. Thanking them, letting them know you appreciate their hard work, or buying them a nice dinner as a token of your appreciation goes a long way.
Understand how inflation affects your business
youYou’ve heard hundreds of different perspectives and opinions about rising inflation. This can leave many people lost when looking for reliable sources for accurate information both on the macro scale and where inflation affects their businesses. Use our resources to find great factual sources. Be careful because too many experts, especially social media experts, are ignorantly voicing differing opinions.
Be vigilant about preparing for inflation and its impact on your organization. Be cautious and approach things with the right amount of skepticism. Take your time to digest the information before making a decision. People tend to want immediate answers. But how many decisions are really that time-sensitive? Consider the impact your decisions will have on others. Retaining top talent is hard, and when you do, the positive impact is immense.
Response to rising interest rates
Who would have thought 6% or 7% would be considered an interest rate hike? It may create uncertainty for business leaders, but it shouldn’t distract from what matters most. It may be a cliché, but It is essentially about maintaining good fundamentals, generate profit, serving customers, communicating with strategic partners and stakeholders, etc. If a 2% or 3% rate hike makes that much of a difference, there could have been operational problems long before the rate hike.
Consider the impact on customers, products and suppliers
Rising interest rates can affect your operations, but consider the positive and negative impacts on your customers, products and suppliers. The focus returns to streamlining costs, eliminating unprofitable customers and products, reducing inefficiencies, and strengthening relationships. The 80/20 rule is alive and well. Focusing on these key numbers will impact your success.
Happy new year
As you prepare for the new year, it’s easy to feel anxious or overwhelmed by what lies ahead (or could be). As a business leader, take a step back and assess the external factors you face, Position your business for success in the new year.
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