Lessons for US and Global Women and Minority Businesses
- By Sherry Bloom
Global agility is the ability to not only rapidly adjust when changes in another part of the world affect the business, but also to have an understanding of how to operate a business in the global economy. For women and minority businesses, having leaders with real global agility can be an invaluable asset in terms of the organization’s ability to grow and thrive in the current economic climate. Developing those leaders is a matter of continually tweaking go-to-market approaches, building an open and innovative company culture, and promoting continually improved service delivery.
Adjusting Strategy in the Face of Global Setbacks
A first step in growing leaders with global agility is teaching the practice of continually tweaking your approach to the market. Go-to-market plans are built from a given set of expected global conditions. When those global conditions don’t meet expectations, adjustment is necessary based on the company goals and up to date forecasts.
Training potential leaders to constantly be looking at how to meet goals in the face of global setbacks builds an instinct for agility. Learning to run the numbers, read forecasts, and respond appropriately ensures both personal success and the success of the organization. It also promotes out of the box thinking and innovating for results rather than giving up in the face of adversity.
One component of global agility is the skill of keeping one step ahead. This is especially true for women and minority business enterprises who may encounter additional challenges.
David Aikins, President of Diversity Promotions, an African American-owned company, said every day is a different day and he is constantly thinking how can he stay one step ahead of his competitors. “For me leadership is about being in the fields and leading by example. We are not a company where I sit behind a closed door and direct people what to do. I’m out in the field and actually visit my own warehouses, I visit our suppliers, I’ve had clients where I literally open boxes before the ship out. That is our competitive advantage,” stressed Aikins.
To stay one step ahead of the competition around the world, minority and women’s business groups need to be especially clear on the value that they provide as an organization. What makes them unique, and what are the core values of the firm? These become the pillars for standing up and standing out in a world that wants to pass by without noticing. Understanding what makes the organization great – and a great asset to partners – helps frame the go-to-market approach in ways that stay proactive rather than being reactive.
“MWBEs need to have a gut level understanding of what language that business speaks, what’s important to them. In order to be perceived as a leader you must be doing great things,” said Richard Moore, Manager of Supplier Diversity at Southwest Airlines. He added: “Typically it happens the other way around. You do the great things then everybody say wow!, we want to hear from you. In our business for example, the voice of the customer is paramount to us. We do the things depending on what the customer wants.”
While working on defining the character and value of the organization, it is also possible to clearly communicate the mission of the organization to the team. Since the mission and goals of the firm are hand in hand with the factors that make the organization unique and strong, it is a perfect time to be clear about corporate expectations for performance in both process and final outcomes. In this way, team members can see how the whole picture fits together, so that they harbor no illusions about the nature of the firm or the milestones they have been tasked with achieving.
Recognizing Individual and Team Accomplishments
At each stage where milestones are successfully completed, the firm can reward the right actions and achievements. It is also important to recognize both teams and individuals who contributed to the successful event, sale, or promotional activity.
As a best practice, recognitions for individuals should be public, customized, and commiserate with the level of the success. Individuals should be held up as examples to their peers and it should be clear that the organization appreciates the work that was done.
For team recognitions, the best practices are for rewards that honor the group to peer groups and across the organization. The reward should enhance the team effort rather than naming individuals, and where possible should be a form of recognition (money, plaque, time off, or other reward) most in line with the internal team culture.
Keeping Morale High in a World of Cutbacks
Maintaining a strong organizational soul despite a harsh environment that may require severe cutbacks or austerity measures is critical for continuing to be an effectively functional organization. The embracement of the firm’s core values and USP as a supplier are essential, as are the recognition and rewards practices mentioned in the previous segment. However, they are not the only techniques which can be used to keep morale high.
Openness and transparency about corporate operations are additional key techniques for MWBEs to keep morale high. Transparency and openness about firm finances, prospects, and challenges removes potential barriers and any suspicion of workers being mislead. Honesty about challenges also allows the minds of all employees to be united on solving problems and finding solutions. Morale will be higher in firms where all members feel they can make meaningful contributions to the health of the firm, and it is only possible when all team members are clear on what needs to be done.
Building Cohesion and Unity for Goal Achievement
Along with keeping morale high, openness and an ongoing dialogue about what is needed by the firm can work to transform individual team members into a cohesive unit working to achieve the same goals on behalf of the total company. Many firms – even small firms – have a tendency to compartmentalize themselves, which is harmful to both morale and productivity. By promoting a non-territorial culture and cross-sectional cooperation throughout the organization, individuals will be more likely to coalesce into a functional unit making progress on behalf of the firm.
Measuring Success and Potential
Having worked on the mission, expectations, rewards systems, and morale of the firm, the effort to build global agility will not be complete without measuring the success achieved. To do this, it is important to set aside time at regular intervals for higher level pull ups and assessment of work and movement at the firm. It can be all too easy for MWBEs to get caught up in the daily logistical challenges, and forget the importance of step back sessions.
Designating a morning a month, or a weekend retreat quarterly, can do wonders for focusing attention on what’s working, what isn’t, and how to move forward efficiently. Supplier trend movements can be discussed independently of the day’s fire drills, permitting the firm to put more strategic responses in place for smoother future operations.
A step back also allows managers to more objectively make assessments about who is thriving and succeeding on the job and where more training or coaching may be needed. Competencies such as adaptability, ability to innovate, personal discipline, and tolerance of other mindsets can all be discussed in light of the organization’s needs and the current state of the talent pool.
Kathleen Castore, Sanofi Aventis’ manager of supplier diversity, said some of the successful large MBEs she knows have certain traits that separate them from others. “It’s the persistence, patience, perseverance, a willingness to listen to corporations and fellow associates to learn best practices and to learn from their mistakes. Having a business plan is one of the most critical things I would tell an MWBE. Without it you don’t know where you are going.”
Moving at the Speed of the World
With a well-defined organizational value system, an open and innovative culture, and regular sessions to evaluate successes, progress, and opportunities; MWBE’s will be in a position to rapidly act on opportunities. Although many firms suffer under organizational lethargy and a lack of mission clarity, MWBE’s who have done their legwork will find that identifying and acting on opportunities that arise becomes second nature in their firms, earning them a positive reputation as an agile player in the global markets. This reputation, once developed, can be a self-perpetuating belief system that continues to push the firm and individual team members to be more agile even as the world changes.