<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Social norms are shifting. Technology advances at an ever-increasing pace. Some changes we can easily anticipate (the change of the seasons, the turnover of administrations in the U.S.), others can blindside us (pandemics, natural disasters, equipment failure). Change is inevitable. Being prepared for it is not.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So how does a company fortify itself to withstand the myriad of changes that the world throws at it? It starts with the fundamental Miick tools of purpose, values, and mission. One of the primary values to be enacted is to operate on profit, and not simply cash flow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rudy puts it like this, \u201dNumber one: If I live on cash flow instead of profit I can live a really great lifestyle as long as things are good. The second there\u2019s a downturn I\u2019m in trouble. When something downturns as radically as the pandemic did we\u2019re out of business, literally the whole business model changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNumber Two: If I\u2019m lacking sense of purpose, that is to say, if my purpose is only to make money, if I\u2019m lacking sense of purpose, then my board or my investors or my team or me personally is simply performing on opinion, not the purpose. Consequently, we end up screaming and yelling at each other in the boardroom, and while we\u2019re wasting time having drama trying to figure out what to do, we\u2019re going broke at speed. Or my team is getting sick and we are not adaptable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHere\u2019s what suddenly happens: those companies with a war chest they have money because fiscal well-being is a value that they\u2019ve honored. So even in negative cash flow they have a war chest. They also have a definitive sense of purpose. So the thinking becomes: \u2018If I cannot deliver my product in the typical way I figure out, at speed, how to achieve our vision based on our purpose, guided by our values. This translates into I can do delivery. I can do pick up and carry out. Now, the way I package, the way I meet you at the door, the way my product carries back to your home is as good as the finest restaurant in the world. Suddenly, instead of being one down, I\u2019m one up. We take pandemic and turn it into opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another key component to being able to execute those quick changes in the face of disaster are the communication tools that Miick provides. Rudy explains, \u201cWe have this saying, Communication is the primary how. No matter what we\u2019re doing, communication is the pivot piece, it is the actualization tool that shifts the idea to actualization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The way we speak to each other, acknowledgment of our differences, acknowledgment of naming the elephant in the room, what we call the moose in the room,\u00a0 by opening the door to communication that allows me to say \u2018I\u2019m not feeling good\u2019 or \u2018I need to stay home and take care of my kid\u2019 or \u2018How do we do production with half the team?\u2019 suddenly that\u2019s doable \u2013 even though we\u2019re in the middle of the radical challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThree kinds of companies have survived and thrived:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1st: Single units, those that are hierarchical and there\u2019s one person who makes good decisions and says \u2018GO\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2nd: Those with what might be considered having \u201cunlimited\u201d capital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3rd: Third is our kind of organizational structure where nimbleness shows up, quickness complexity shows up, at speed, where there\u2019s efficiency even though everything around us is traumatic.\u201d \u00a0 Clear culture and values-driven decisions stoke the decision-making fire here!\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the examples above have focused on the response to\u00a0 Covid-19, the same ideas apply to any kind of curveball that can come at a business.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Next Up: Embracing Change at a Fundamental Level.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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