As business owners, we often find ourselves spinning numerous plates and trying to tackle everything that needs doing at once. For many business owners I speak to, planning of the day, week or month is all well and good, but inevitably there’s a curve ball. That usually leads to uttering the famous paraphrasing of Robbie Burns: ‘the best-laid plans of mice and men often go astray.’
We live in rapidly changing times. The challenges of recent weeks, months and years show us unequivocally that stability is a luxury we cannot expect. Consider, for example, that in a single generation, optical businesses owners have adapted to an entirely new way of communicating with their patients. They have invested in new technologies, changed their product band service mix and considered whether to move to a private model, which was something that was probably not even on the radar for most people pre-Covid.
One side effect of the speed of change is that it is now impossible for the owner, manager, or employee to know everything about the business. Some would argue that this has always been the case but what is not in doubt is that it is becoming more and more apparent.
This explains why more and more business owners are seeking help from consultants, peers, mentors and coaches to help them navigate the biggest challenges. Sharing knowledge is not a new concept, but the ‘stronger together’ feeling across the optical sector during the past two years has helped many business owners to not only survive but thrive by making long-term strategic changes to the way they operate.
Business strategy
One of the main challenges I have seen businesses facing, recently, is around the continued provision (or not) of general ophthalmic services (GOS) and the implementation of a subscription-based fee charging model. Being able to work through the various business scenarios, is no easy task. Even more difficult is the issue of whether to remain a GOS provider, which adds an emotional element to the decision.
To add further uncertainly, decisions such as this are being made against a backdrop of a moving playing field. All the while, you are considering your own strategy, to local and national competition and colleagues are making their own changes, which affect the dynamic of the decision. One thing is for sure, making the decision to move to a private model, to a subscription-based system or both, will need a leap of uncomfortable faith at some point.
Financial success and measuring performance
A challenge constantly facing business owners is financial management. Many owners I know are stuck in the day-to-day grind and are less aware of the big picture. Having time for financial planning and understanding aspects of their business, such as cash flow, profit margins and cost management, are often considered as a luxury.
Linked to that is the notion of monitoring the performance of the business through meaningful key performance indicators (KPIs). Properly managing your KPIs provides the business with insights about how well it is performing now, but more importantly how well the business will do in the future. Most business people I know are not experts in how to develop KPIs, and need help in defining both what to measure, how to use that information to help decision-making and how to best communicate those metrics to their teams. Often businesses use overly simplified KPIs, which, at best, clog up the system and, at worst, are counterproductive in that they drive the wrong behaviours.
Winning team
If you haven’t yet heard of the phrase ‘the great resignation,’ I suggest a trip to Google might be in order. The challenge facing business owners right now is that post-pandemic, employees are re-evaluating their work-life balance and what is important to them in their life at work. Already, we were seeing a shift in the way younger people think about work and what it means for them. A small or medium-sized business will not necessarily have the resources for a full time human resource expert. However, retaining your good people and finding the right people to employ are crucial for success.
Sustainability, work-life balance, purpose, values and mental health have all moved up the pecking order in terms of importance and look like staying there. It would seem that ‘the great resignation’ is showing no signs of slowing down and employers need to make an effort to identify and understand what it is that makes their people feel engaged and valued at work. That may take the form of revisiting benefits packages or introducing a more positive working environment.
Embracing change
Whether you are an early adopter or someone who prefers to watch and wait, you need to do it on purpose and not by default. Knowing when to embrace change and when to stay with your own course is essential. By having a well-defined purpose or reason why you do what you do will help navigate these decisions. While not every shiny new thing is better, refuting any potential change and sticking your head in the sand runs the risk of making you and your business obsolete.
We are living in an era of constant change and will continue to do so. Preparing for that and embracing that change is the best way to meet these challenges head-on.
