Lean And Mean At All Costs!

'Lean and Mean' is a phrase I remember used back in my Materiel Management days and today we hear it used more and more in Manufacturing with Lean Processes and Inventory (or no inventory) Management systems. Having lived through other recession periods most recently in the mid to late 1990's I'm starting to hear the old battle cry from Business Managers and the Self Employed of; 'Lean and Mean at all costs'. Essentially what I'm really hearing is...employees can be sacrificed and taken advantage of at all costs.

Granted, that during times of great growth or success a business gets fat and a recession can be an opportunity to trim fat. But trimming to the bone is going too far. I'm a strong believer that a company is only as good as its employees and generally its employees are only as good as its management.

A synergistic management team that cascades down ideas and asks questions and allows open creative discussion between all staff and has continuous training will always succeed. Conversely, a management team that is afraid to speak for fear of losing their job and/or led by an over controlling manager will fail.

In this time of economic stress we need to trim fat, yes, but we also need to recognize the best in our staff and allow them to have ideas. Ideas that might foster other ideas in a true brain storming fashion and thus find new and innovative ways to cut costs, improve efficiencies and increase sales, etc. Lean and mean at all costs should not mean taking advantage of your staff by fear of loss of employment. In the end you may be out on the streets yourself, looking for a job.

Your Business Will Fail Within 24 Months

Imagine reading in the papers, hearing on the radio and watching on TV everyday business investment and economy experts claiming that your business will fail within 24 months. What would you do? Would you curl up in the fetal position and wait for doomsday? Or, would the fighter in you do everything and anything to prove them wrong and keep your business alive? I would venture to say that most business owners are fighters. If we were not fighters we probably would have caved in against all the negativity we heard before we got into business.

So, if we are fighters why are we allowing the media to promote negativity? Sure, investment portfolio's have taken a hit and people have lost their home due to mis-guided sub prime lending strategies in the US but can we get through all this? Of course we can. Big business, employees of big business will be impacted by this first. The suppliers of big business will be impacted next. If you are an employee of a big business then you should look at getting into a business. A franchise business is a good decision. If you are a supplier to these big businesses then you need to get all your eggs out of the one basket. You need to fine new clients. The most value for your marketing dollar is Internet Marketing. Ask anyone who has moved part of, or most of, their marketing budget to the Internet why they did this and they will all tell you that it is because the Internet, if done right, will get you better results.

Don't do this yourself. Seek out a professional in Internet Marketing. Internet Marketing is much more affordable than you might have been led to believe given leaders in the industry such as WSI Internet Consulting who leverage their Global Presence to bring the costs down. But it is not about cost. It is about value. What will be the value, impact to your business. The cost is not as important as the value of the new business brought to your business. What is the cost to your business if you don't act now and seriously do something on the Internet? Do you take charge of your life, your business, or do you let life take charge of you? Perhaps the cost of not taking action now, not fighting, and thus curling up in defeat in the fetal position is as significant as; Your Business Will Fail Within 24 Months.