It can be tough to know what steps to take to bring a struggling organization back from the brink. Implementing a holistic approach is essential to revitalizing a distressed company and getting back to business. Try this five-step formula to get started.
1. Focus on what works
What you focus on grows. When a company is struggling, it can be tempting to focus on the negatives, engage in blame, and try to eliminate what doesn’t work. While that is an important component of a company turnaround, it is just as essential — if not more — to identify and expand on the areas that are working. It is seeing the glass half full, in any aspect, that brings people together and allows them to align around a common goal.
2. Create positive momentum
Onward and upward. Intercepting negative culture, cultivating small wins, and celebrating them consistently will go a long way in creating positive momentum. Positive attitude and actions create a domino effect, compounding on one another to create major change. Disengaging from any negative talk is important to turning around a company.
3. People, people, people
The heart and soul of any organization is made up of its people. Focusing on the people who are making positive impacts within the company is important in turnaround situations. Engaging change agents within the existing team and creating a team that feed off each other’s desired outcomes is essential to creating alignment, positive momentum, and spirit.
4. Align intentions, choices, and actions
When our intentions, choices, and actions align — both at the individual and organizational level — it leads to clarity, flow, harmony, and less resistance. It allows for prosperity, satisfaction, and growth. Organizations that end up in a distressed situation were likely misaligned on these three critical elements.
5. Be open and listen
The answers and solutions you’re searching for are typically within clear view. When a safe space is created for people to truly express themselves and for others to listen and be open to new possibilities, people gain the clarity of mind needed to move the organization in the right direction.
