What does it mean to get future-ready? Overall, being future-ready is about being proactive to meet the challenges and opportunities of tomorrow’s business landscape. It involves several components, including building robust internal capabilities, scaling up those capabilities in anticipation of future competition, finding new sources for growth, and identifying alternative sources for supplies. Each of these components builds resilience which enables businesses to withstand disruptions, accelerate innovation, and anticipate market fluctuations.
In the First Quarter Survey published by the Bank of Canada, firms are still concerned about demand, costs, and uncertainty. These concerns are being exasperated by curbed demand from interest rates, which consequently has had a softening effect on investment intent.
Here are a few strategies to help your organization start building resilience for future success:
- Partner with Disruptors: Sometimes it is a better strategy to partner with rivals – a product’s feature may not be invested in house, but that doesn’t mean companies cannot cooperate and benefit.
- Explore Early: Businesses often get trapped in the “it’s the way we’ve always done things” mentality. A previous business model may have worked at one time, but it may be outdated. Competitors would have since learned how to counter or replicate your strategy. By not staying current, businesses run the risk of being obsolete. To stay ahead of the curve, explore new opportunities and ‘know-hows’.
- Connect your Front of House to the Bank End: To keep up with consumers’ expectations, a company must digitize its entire supply chain. One strategy to consider is automating the tracking and coordination of orders, inventory, and supplies. By leveraging data analytics, businesses can gleam insights into customer behaviour. Orders can get out the door more quickly, but also enable firms to apply strategic campaigns and targeted promotions.
- Learn and Act Decisively: Successful companies know how to experiment and how to make decisions quickly. When top management take heavy-handed approaches, it slows down innovation and progress. Therefore, teams should have the space to experiment, guided by top management’s strategic objectives. It is a balance of being realistic and willing to try new things. Companies need to be prepared to pivot following evidence.
- Branch Out: The tech sector operates at rapid velocity. Business models need to be capable of addressing evolving needs. Therefore, the organizational culture should foster adaptation, agility, and nimbleness. Through a culture of experimentation, teams can produce new offerings or breaking into new verticals. Just a reminder that experiments sometimes do not work out, but that’s the price of success.
To start fostering a culture of experimentation and innovation, apply some key principles of Design Thinking.
- Define your Ambitions: Craft a statement on what you’d like your organization to become.
- Start Small: Initiate a project, whether with a small team or specific department, that tackles quick wins but causes impact.
- Scale Sustainably: Implement projects using cross-functional teams that enable your organization to develop new problem-solving methods. It is recommended to apply change management principles to ensure optimal buy-in.
It is our mission at BAASS Business Solutions to understand where you want to take your organization. We can enhance your current solution by aligning your business strategies with our specialized team, comprehensive toolbox, and proven methodology. If you are interested in learning more, join us at BAASS Connect.
