Some signs of trouble in your company are easy to ignore. They aren’t obvious signs of trouble. They can even look like progress.
In the great Indian Ocean tsunami some people survived because they knew the signs of a tidal wave of disaster waiting to happen. They learned, “When the sea retreats far past the beach, run for the high ground. It will soon come roaring back.” It is a natural occurrence before a tsunami.
Job disasters have signs of impending doom like the tsunami causing water to retreat from the shore. Think about it. What happens before a car plant closes down entirely? Work is cut back. Minor layoffs occur. Sales are obviously dropping. Cars stay on dealer lots for longer and longer. Rebates and special incentives are used to sell cars. Managers, supervisors and foreman are laid off. Finally the plant closing is announced.
An old Thai proverb says,
At high tide fish eat ants. At low tide ants eat fish.
A healthy company succeeds by doing effectively what a dying company struggles to do over and over without success.
Signs of doom I have seen where I worked included:
- A new quality program annually
- No more flowers sent to funerals of workers and their family members
- Business travel is cut back
- On-the-job training is cut back to “just in time” training
- Payments for outside tuition is cut back
- Technology innovation specialists moved back into production jobs
- Promised bonuses cut back or not paid
- Refusal to let employees transfer to other areas in the company
- Relocation expense reimbursement eliminated
- Sudden personal interest in the workers by the company president and chairman.
- Empowerment training during declining markets.
- Not replacing people who quit.
- Reorganizing more and more often.
- Stock price dropping.
- Replacement of salespeople at a quick clip.
- A frenzy of competitor acquisitions.
- A sudden focus on getting “good press” or being in trade publications.
When you see the signs of impending problems, you may still have years to prepare. Or you may have days. The important thing is to start preparing without being part of the problem. Take positive steps in your own sphere of influence.
When the water retreats from the shoreline, it may look like a great time to go out and pick up the fish left behind. When your boss is sacked, it may seem like the perfect time to get into management. And it may be true. But be careful and look for signs that a tsunami is coming to wash your whole company away.
Later I will talk about how businessmen in India cope with far worse problems than Americans can even begin to understand, and do it with a smile.
Something to do today
Draw a line down the middle of a sheet of paper. On the left side write signs of company strength, reasons for optimism. On the right put a list of troubling signs of decline. Now pick how you can help accentuate the positive or eliminate the negative. Not only will your actions help your company, they will insulate you from layoffs and prepare you for a new job if disaster strikes.
A woman I know well was promoted to a level way above her comfort zone. She had never failed in the past with her last position, but this new promotion was stressful and a big deal to her. One of her friends gave her this advice: