On the minds of business leaders in 2020

Three simple things businesses can start to do today that could help them kick start the transformation needed to survive the next decade.

As we head into the second decade of the 21st Century, I did some quick research into what might be on the minds of business leaders in 2020. I scanned the reports issued at the end of 2019 by the big management consultancies — they interview hundreds of CEOs globally — and combined this with some insights of our own. The results were relatively unsurprising. The usual stuff cropped up; bricks and clicks, future of transport, smart sustainability, regulation, later life and ageing population, corporate culture … you get the idea and they’re relatively similar to those that emerged when I did a similar exercise a few years ago. So what I do find surprising is why are so many big and established brands struggling to embrace these opportunities that have been predicted for an entire decade, if not longer?

In truth, there are hundreds of reasons (or excuses), but in my experience there are three relatively simple things businesses can start to do today that could help them kick start the transformation needed to survive the next decade.

One, spend more time with your (friends and family) customers.

Many businesses have become disconnected from their customers despite the fact that the most successful businesses are outward-facing. Are you an innie or an outie? — In this article that I published last year, I share how companies that look inward (innies) focus on optimisation, building capabilities and reorganisation. Outies, on the other hand, are customer and context obsessed. Instead of asking ‘are we efficient?’ they ask ‘are we easy to do business with?’ They are tuned — sometimes to the point of paranoia — to competitors and market changes.

Becoming an outie might sound like a daunting task, but just like committing to spending more time with your friends and family, it can start small. Go and listen to a customer today. Call them up or better still, invite them for a coffee. What’s stopping you?

Two, quit (smoking) doing nothing.

Here’s a great article published by a fellow Fluxx colleague, Adam Sweeney. Everyone is busy. Nothing is happening.

Adam shares how “silos, specialisation, and the exponential growth of management roles mean it’s difficult for a whole organisation to take one consistent view of what matters. This makes focus difficult for individuals. One of my clients recently advised me that they have ’40 priorities — which means 1 hour a week for each’. And here comes the B word. We’re all busy. We all feel busy. Yet as demonstrated in the productivity figures, we are not reaping the rewards. That lack of focus may be why”.

There’s nothing worse than “busy fools” kidding themselves that they’re making progress by producing endless PowerPoint decks and Board updates. So how about asking your team to focus on delivering one thing this week rather than 20? What’s stopping you?

Three, do (more exercise) empower people.

The tone of a business, of a team, is all set by the manager and how good she is at leading a team, motivating them, and valuing them. If they are resigned to being a cog in the corporate wheel, then all their staff will behave like that too. Most of it comes down to old fashioned leadership. It’s not rocket science, is it? Well, it feels to me like businesses are so obsessed with hierarchy that they have started to believe that restructuring everyone is the answer to all problems — this isn’t leadership. Leadership is providing a clear vision and inspiring and empowering your team to deliver it. People are the most important ingredient.

So, if you are planning a new restructure. Stop yourself and instead ask what could I be doing to make my team more motivated and more productive this month?

I’d love to hear from anyone who tries any of these simple steps or if you’ve created and implemented any of your own.

If you’d like to see ways we’ve helped companies and could help yours, take a look at our site: Fluxx.uk.com and subscribe to our newsletter.

Jenny Burns is an Executive Partner at Fluxx, a company that uses experiments to understand customers, helping clients to build better products. Find out more about our work with Zopa, Vogue, Nationwide and Croydon Council, or email Jenny Burns at jenny.burns@fluxx.uk.com.