Time To Retreat?

Some economists are predicting this will be the worst recession since the 1930s; others are claiming it will be worse. Is it time to retreat? To stop doing everything and hide until things get better? What’s the use in trying when even the experts are confounded?

The stock market has been extremely volatile and impossible to predict. People’s retirement accounts are taking big hits and property values are plummeting, causing many state and local governments that rely on real estate taxes to struggle with predicted shortfalls. Discretionary spending is being curtailed.

Doom and gloom are everywhere. Or are they? Reading the newspaper or listening to TV and radio news programs would certainly lead one to believe so, but what is really going on? Have you queried your customer base to see what impact all of this negative publicity is having on their thinking and actions?

Maybe it is time not to retreat but to have a retreat. A retreat that starts with surveying those you’d like to do business with to find out what they are actually thinking, rather than what the media think will sell news stories. 9gs has conducted surveys for businesses in many sectors, and we’ve learned not to prejudge what the results will be. Insights into what one’s customer base is thinking and doing are the truly valuable pieces of information that good decisions—decisions that differentiate more successful from less successful enterprises—are based upon.

We work closely with the organizations who either want us to facilitate a retreat or to support them with one of our retreat-in-a-box models. We suggest getting a survey out to the customers two or three months before the retreat is scheduled (customers is used here in the broadest sense—if you’re a medical clinic, your customers are your patients; if you are a chamber of commerce your customers are your members). Then, analyze the data and iterate back and forth with the principals until reaching an agreed set of issues. We describe this as a fact-based, scientific approach. You want to take as much emotion as possible out of the process.

Identifying issues and possible initiatives is one thing; wrestling with them is another. 9gs has found that most organizations overreach when they first consider what they need to do. The typical approach is to identify twenty things that won’t get done, usually due to limited time and resources, instead of concentrating on a few things the organization can actually accomplish.

The facilitator will help here, but it will take the active participation of the retreat team to limit the scope of activity and zero in on actions that fall under the acronym SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely. This is hard work, and only the members of the organization trying to grapple with the actual issues have the knowledge needed to sort and prioritize among the various alternatives. There will be disagreements; compromises will be necessary, and working together will build buy-in that will be invaluable during implementation.

SMART initiatives also produce the level of detail required when setting up the vital last step in the retreat process: building in accountability. Individuals can be tasked with insuring that specific goals are met using agreed upon measures and timelines.
We suggest publishing the initiatives with the appropriate quantitative data and scheduling quarterly meetings to review progress and raise awareness. After an appropriate time interval (a year usually works well) the process can be repeated—getting into this cycle will insure continuing improvement with adjustments for changes in the environment.

Probably the only people who are enjoying what is going on in the economy right now are storm chasers and hurricane hunters, but that doesn’t mean the rest of us can’t take action to give us more control over our immediate futures. Most organizations have customers who are indirectly affected by the stock market’s turmoil. A scientifically conducted and properly analyzed survey can help quantify what is happening and offer insights into how the organization should react. Bringing together individuals from across the organization to struggle with the issues and craft initiatives returns a measure of control and helps generate buy in and improve communication.

Our recommendation: Don’t RETREAT, HAVE A RETREAT. Prepare scientifically by using a survey and then implement rapidly with a reasonable level of expectation. We’re ready to help you.