Friday, May 22, 2009

Sailing Through the Storm - Managing during the Downturn (Part 1)

Running a midsize enterprise is somewhat similar to navigating a ship.

Investing in new startups and ventures is the exact same approach taken by King and Queen of Spain during the 13th century.

Christopher Columbus, at that time represents a young MBA graduate whose college tuitions was funded by a scholarship scheme. Financial troubles did not stop him from dreaming, Columbus had great visions of the new world and was able to impress Queen Isabella with his well-written business plan.

Apart from that he was ranked top in his human resources management class and that was enough (at that time) to persuade the Queen to invest in him.

Having taken advance navigational management in his freshman year, Columbus knew exactly what he needed to do. He proposed and was granted three sturdy ships along with a contract that ensures a huge pay check every time a new island is discovered. He also briefed the queen regarding risks and governance procedures for his expedition.

Columbus was happy with the flow of liquidity that he decided to hire a few consultants and auditors to accompany him in his voyage to establish and maintain continuous process improvement while ensuring complaint with the FIA (Ferdinand-Isabella Act).

The story so far illustrates something similar to what we see today. Entrepreneurs running their own midsize enterprises are finding it much more difficult to operate, manage cost and stay competitive all at the same time, not to mention ensuring conformance with the emerging standards and acts in this current business environment.

Shivek Sachdev, Consultant
Thai Informatic Systems Co.,Ltd. (TIS)

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