This Focused Performance Weblog is a "business management blog" containing links and commentary related primarily to organizational effectiveness with a "Theory of Constraints" perspective. TOC is noted for its applications in Project Management and Multi-Project Management (Critical Chain) and Operations Management (Drum-Buffer-Rope), as well as in Marketing, Strategic Planning and Change Management (TOC Thinking Processes). If you are on an archive page, current postings are found here.
Saturday, November 16, 2002
• Spot the danger signs of a failing business This brief article from The Scotsman contains YATTL (yet another top ten list), this time focusing on danger signs for small businesses. Get past the local Scot jargon of #1's symptom of missed tax payments, and #2 pops up as...
POOR management decision making procedures. The management of some businesses are too busy dealing with day to day issues such as dispute resolution or short term cash flow issues. In fact, they should be concentrating on more fundamental business strategy issues, such as whether they are operating in the right markets, at the right margins, with the right level of resource.
Poor management of fundamental business strategy issues can be a sign that management is stretched, or understaffed, or that the wrong people have been hired because they were cheaper than the right people. Perhaps they lack the relevant experience, and are either unaware of it, or they don't know where to turn to for small biz assistance. Either way it is often a sign of the start of things going wrong.
Some of the others in the list include #5, lack of training and slowdown of skills provision, which could lead to #4, increases in complaints and #9, inventory increases, which ties up cash, which could lead to #3, insufficient funding.
This is a good warning list for small businesses.
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