Posted in Philippines forum
Business review and evaluation is a critical business success factor. Award winning firms place great emphasis on this factor. The ability to deeply and truly understand one’s business derives from the willingness to constantly and methodically review its progress both positively and negatively.
At Cathay Dupont we have worked on a simple yet powerful formula which could push your business to become an award winning entity. As in the age-old sandwich review method, this begin with understanding the messy parts of the sandwich; in this case, the sandwich is your business. Internal warning signals and external complaints are two unpleasant terms for a business. Are these really that bad? or are we simply overlooking some real potential? As the saying goes every obstacle is a stepping stone for the optimist; warnings and complaints in a business are stepping stones too. Complaints are a precursor of warnings while warnings are a precursor of potential disasters. A threat foreseen is a catastrophe averted. With this paradigm in mind let us understand the opportunities that warnings and complaints come with.
Primarily warnings in a business could be anything; be it a technological breakthrough from the external environment or a declining production or service quality from within. Warnings are signals pelted at us when the business deviates from the success road. Unlike complaints warnings come at a later time stamp and require immediate remedial actions. As with any signal what is required is instant and impactful rectification. The precious time spent on pondering on the negativities invoked by a warning could cost much more than the actual warning. With the right perception about warning one can easily capitalize on the opportunity of “time for rectification” that a warning signals for.
On the other hand, complaints are a unique improvement mechanism for a business. Complaints, be it from within or around indicate, either an inherent defect in the process, product or services of the business or the expectation gap from the perspective of a businesses’ stakeholders. Either way complaints create the opportunity to “identify shortcomings” as well as “develop fresh perspectives” in one’s business. With proper realization of the positive avenues complaints bring, one could foster progressive improvements within the firm.
At Cathy Dupont we believe when a business is smart enough to critically review itself with an unconventional understanding of warnings and complaints and understand the time stamps of complaints and warnings; it will empower the firm to act timely and wisely in order avoid obstacles and develop opportunities towards transforming itself to an award winning entity. In conclusion, steering the firm in the direction of success would be much effective, when complaints and warnings are received with the lenses of optimism; seen as indicators of deviations and confronted with the positive mentality for ongoing improvement.
