5 ways to tame fear and take action in your business

SINGAPORE (17 Feb 2011) – Anxiety about the economy has spread to every market in the world as uncertainty drives new sentiments and spending behaviours. Despite many CEOs are ebullient about the prospects of 2011-2012, majority are still feeling turbulence, prompting us to coin the word, turbullience, a portmanteau of the words turbulent and ebullient.

Whilst some companies stay flat, progressive companies leapfrogged. Business trends are like forces of nature—almost terrifying in their release of energy and unpredictable volatility, but underneath they still adhere to certain patterns and principles. We discovered how leading companies took back control to the top spot, which you can meet at the HR Talk Show.

1. These companies get the right data to get their house in order.

Many companies have streamlined resources and focused on what really mattered, ie, retaining most valuable customers, identify new market segments and strengthen liquidity and accelerate receivables. CEOs went back to the company’s vision and used that as a basis to prune, partner or progress, such as the experience of Malaysian Airlines.

2. Progressive companies conduct experiments to add value, value, value.

Adopting clever ways to cope, customers may need permission to indulge, but still will spend in the categories that they love. Progressive companies similarly adopt intelligent ways to cope with consumer demands, spending time and resources to innovate their service and product lines aligned to the heartbeat, such as prioritising function over features that they do not need, to cope with price pressures while adding more value. Ricoh Malaysia serves to add value to its clients by developing the world’s first bio mass toner to help preserve the environment and cut toner costs.

3. Winning companies build an advisory team of people they respect from other industries and functions.

Service-oriented companies benchmark against manufacturing companies to redefine measurements for efficiency and innovation. Leaders are constantly in constant communication with fellow leaders, his/her employees and the market to fit consumers’ sentiments and pockets. Nestle’s “popularly positioned products,” smaller-sized existing brands that were received well by developing markets are now expanded into developed markets.

4. They build strong expertise to leverage on confidence and brand.

Perhaps the best way to overcome company fears is to build your knowledge and experience. Send your executives and managers to new training programs; hire new employees from outside your industry; seek out seminars, consultants, forums and more. Acquire talent and other assets previously not in play. By building a great pipeline of progressive talent, you will be able to innovate and consistently come out on top for the rebound as well as the downturn.

5. Great companies define the issues and questions you need to resolve.

If you don’t define specifically what your organization is afraid of, you won’t be able to quickly tackle and tame those issues. As you attend the HR Talk Show, already discuss with your team what challenges you’d like to address, list them all down and go to the Talk Show with a solid objective in mind.

Whether you are rethinking a business model, exploring transformational partnership with an organisation, evaluating an alternative HR technology or developing a new talent base, start thinking about scenarios, quantify the impact and brainstorm at the Show.

Get your actionable insights at the HR Talk Show, tackling Strategic Succession, Talent Management and HR Technology on 25 May 2011, Pavilion Kuala Lumpur—the first and only show that supports Malaysia’s drive to transform into a high-income, high-skilled and high-value economy, featuring

• An excellent format for discussing topics that delegates might otherwise be exposed to Mission to reverberate outwards toward the larger culture for greater impact
• A responsible mindset to debate issues in an enlightening and informative manner
• Senior representatives, CEOs and HR Directors, from top companies in Malaysia and major government organisations
• Workshop and informal discussion platforms where delegates can discuss freely and work out strategies and plans that they can put in place immediately

Your role as leader in your organisation is to clarify your people and business management direction for 2011-2012 and determine how you can future proof your business and people strategy, against the global drivers that will impact your organisation in the coming decade.

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