The Answer Ain't Blowin' In The Wind . . . By Director Wayne Hall

January 4, 2010

As 2009 comes to a close and brings to an end the eventful decade of the “noughties” there has been no shortage of commentators heralding it as a decade of change – political, economic and social. Certainly there were some momentous events - “9/11”…the election of a non-white U.S president…a global economic crisis…and far too many wars and natural disasters to contemplate.

In fact, “change - and how to respond to it” became a favourite topic of business consultants throughout 2009, as they looked to capitalise on the supposed “new order” of things and “assist” business through changing times (though why these wise men hadn’t been able to predict the change in the first place was conveniently left aside).

Nonetheless, you couldn’t help but find yourself nodding in admiration as each clever, well-timed catchphrase was wheeled out…”Change will come to everyone - even you…”,  “Change is now the norm, not the exception….”,  “change is painful...”,  “it's not back to normal, but forward to normal…. “, and, my favourite: “even change itself has changed”.

So much wisdom! How could one possibly make a poor decision with that kind of insight on offer? Simply change with the change and all will be fine…

If only it were that simple…


What really is “change”?

I suspect that many people interpret changes to things such as technology, software and formats – the automation of processes – as “fundamental” change. I don’t think they are. In most instances they represent more efficient ways (hopefully) of delivering the same outcome. Change, yes…but to the process – not the outcome….that “mutual place” where the supplier’s product or service fulfils the customer’s expectation.

The business of delivering effective music programs is a good example for illustrating this point. Sure, the technology and formats associated with music programming have changed, but its fundamental nature has not. The instruction from the 19th century event organiser would still resonate with the modern music programmer…

 “The ensemble is to play tunes which suit the various moods of the evening – reception, dining, and dancing, in that order. Their will be speeches at 6pm sharp, and between each speech we would like the ensemble to play some short, appropriate pieces to entertain the guests and build anticipation – details of which are to be discussed. The dancing segment should be opened with the piece by…”, and so it goes.

The still-relevant business music components are all there – a distribution system (probably a horse and cart), hardware, “players” and playlist – packaged to deliver the right music at the right time.


An expectation of change…

Nowadays, the frequency with which new product and “solutions” come into our personal and business lives is quite stunning…and the expectation (bordering on culture)  that has developed around all things new is that if we don’t embrace them, not only will we be left behind – but we also mustn’t get it (whatever “it” is). Social and business pressures bear down on us to change pretty well for change’s sake…yet in reality most of this compelling new “stuff” turns out to have a limited lifespan (and therefore) value. Perhaps it’s out attention spans that have collectively changed.

My point here, though, is that mention the word “change”, “markets” or “business” in the same sentence and people get nervous (which is precisely why business advisors like to do it).

In reality, however, we usually have a significant amount of time – usually years – during which we can adjust our business processes. Every business I have witnessed go “bad” in our industry - from juke box manufacturers with global distribution networks to business music suppliers with solid client bases – had years of opportunity to correct their business. They simply failed to see there was a problem. The real change which be-set these organisations was not, in fact, a fundamental change in market conditions, but a change in willingness to sustain a connection with their customers.


Working out what you stand for

Why did this happen in these businesses? Well, in some instances the owners simply got bored. In others, management seemed to lose site of what the business stood for, and became distracted (in some cases infatuated) by services which, while important, were not “core” – services which took them away from their customers…

Back in the middle of the last decade (I can say that now) SBA very consciously went down the path (or tried to) of creating a technology focus to the business – we just had to have our own suite of “inhouse” music management players, along with the software programming expertise that went with it. Within 18 months there were powerful signs that we were becoming a different business – while our music programming capacity, our culture…and our bank balance – had all suffered. This is not to say that a technology-focused operation is destructive…it just didn’t sit well at SBA, with it’s desire to be an exceptional music programming business, continually responding to customer feedback.

So we instigated some operational changes – we outsourced our non-core services (things like R&D, manufacturing and installations) to 3rd parties, each of whom were geared to cope with the ongoing technology “changes” that seem to fill their worlds.

And we went back to what we were good at – music programming and talking to customers.


Coping with change…naturally

I’m certainly not advocating that dealing with change isn’t an important consideration for any business. It just strikes me that those businesses I’ve dealt with – the ones I’ve seen enjoy long term success in the face of dramatic change - have displayed some common traits:

- everyone in the team is actively challenged to develop their skills and question everything
- customer feedback is considered a major resource
- core values and services are defined, passionately protected…but open to refinement
- decision makers look back and learn…then look forward and act - always in the interests of core values
- there is a sense of “let’s not panic, we have time to assess the situation” when confronted with issues, and
- (despite the pressure to present as cutting edge) there is an appreciation that long-life, reliable product & services come from following trends and borrowing ideas…finally
- there are succession plans in place

None of this stuff can be easy to sustain. But those who get “close” appear to ride change like a cork bobbing on rough water…their very make-up means that they deal with it naturally. Change doesn’t generate panic and rushed decision making.

An associate of mine put it another way…

 “change is a function of time and space – it happens; some people struggle with it and some don’t…fewer still seem to relish in it; moreover, my experience is that people are born that way, or at least conditioned to be one way or the other by the time they start their work lives. So if you wish to cope with change in a particular way, make sure you have a match between your approach and the type of change people you have on hand…

Seems like sensible, down-to-earth advice to me.

 


Wayne Hall
Director

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