How to ruin a business

No matter their strengths, businesses are always at risk. Some dangers are so blatant they dare being ignored. But others, less obvious, cause untold, even fatal, damage.

There are clear, but unseen, indicators that a business is in trouble.

n Wanting to believe everything is going great. Businesspeople don’t like bad news.

Jim Holt comes close to the truth in his review of Chuck Klosterman’s book, “But What If We’re Wrong.” Holt states, “Most of what we believe is likely to be wrong.” If that’s true, then doubt, not certainty, is the only positive action.

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n Ignoring details. A lack of productivity imperils businesses, caused by the extraordinary amount of time that’s lost by following up on what’s being ignored.

n Decisions based on the leader’s opinions. Many business owners believe it’s their role to be Decider-in-Chief. Research, surveys, studies, facts, knowledge and the experience of others don’t count.

Employees learn quickly that discussion is useless. It’s a perfect way to strangle a business.

n Poor planning. Sure, it’s fun to talk about wow ideas. They create excitement and lots of energy, but little or no action.

To keep a business on track and growing, there’s only one question that gets results: “Who’s going to do what, why and when?”

n Data blindness. Good businesses fall behind and others die or merge because they’re gridlocked, unable to develop an effective plan to gather the information they need.

n Too many suffer from data blindness, the inability to recognize that their survival depends on the accuracy and completeness of updated, relevant, reliable and accessible information.

n Failure to adapt to customer behavior. After launching its Nest Cam, the company found that many customers were pointing them out the window to keep track of what was going on, according to IoT Daily’s Chuck Martin. Rather than letting a competitor run with the idea, they launched a weatherproof outdoor version to solve the problem.

Unfortunately, “Maybe we should wait and see what happens” is the common reaction, followed by “Why didn’t we do that?” after it’s too late.

n A confusing culture. It seems to happen at entrepreneurial-type companies where management is highly motivated and hard driving. Along with it is a laissez faire attitude that everyone can be left alone and they will automatically do their job.

Instead of setting people in a direction with agreed-upon expectations, they are set adrift.

n Failure to educate customers. A recent American Consumer Satisfaction Index indicates that consumers view Twitter “more negatively” than in past years. The company found 90 percent of people worldwide know the Twitter name, but only those who use it get what it’s all about. Twitter now has a campaign to educate people on how the platform works and the benefits of using it.

n Misunderstanding branding. The usual focus of branding is a logo and a tagline. A new logo and a tagline don’t make a brand.

Branding is about questions: Why are we doing this? What do we value, and how do we show it? Who are our customers? What do we offer them that makes a difference? What sets us apart from our competitors? The answers to these questions are the brand.

Messing up a business is easy. It doesn’t take effort. It occurs without taking notice, even though the signs are all along the road.

We should never drink our own Kool-Aid. It puts us to sleep. But the anecdote is simple: Always worry. Look over your shoulder. Never get comfortable. •

John Graham of GrahamComm is a marketing and sales strategy consultant and business writer. Contact him at jgraham@grahamcomm.com.

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