How to (really) reorganise a company: case history no. 4
Theory and practice
“We do have a strategic direction. It just changes every two weeks.” It’s a real quip, made by a sales manager at an SME during an internal meeting. The problem wasn’t the product (excellent), nor the market (interesting), nor the team (motivated). The problem was that nobody could tell who was really deciding where to go. Every week a new priority:
- “Now we’re focusing on digital.”
- “We need an agent in Germany.”
- “Enough with small customers, we’re only going after the big ones.”
- “Let’s start doing contract manufacturing too.”
It’s not a matter of incompetence: on the contrary, the people running these companies are often clear-headed, quick and intuitive. But precisely for that reason they risk confusing rapid adaptation with strategy, and problem solving with vision. And so what happens is that:
- staff get used to “putting up with” new ideas without ever fully believing in them;
- time and energy are invested in ever-changing directions, with no continuity;
- operational priorities stifle strategic ones;
- in the end, you work hard… but grow little.
Case History #4
An engineering SME, 35 employees, €7 million turnover. The owner has charisma, expertise and a great "nose". But every three months he changes tack: first the focus is on Italy, then on exports, then on e-commerce, then on margins, then on trade fairs. The result? The team is at the mercy of the changes. Projects are started but left half-finished. The in-house managers, even the capable ones, retreat into “execution” mode and stop putting forward ideas.
Over time a very dangerous effect sets in, because people start waiting for “the next idea” instead of truly committing to the current strategic direction. The turning point came not from a “genius” but from a third party, external to the company but internal to the process. Someone who asked the right questions, helped sketch out a medium-term scenario, and forced everyone to set 3 priorities and say no to everything else.