In the current business atmosphere, companies that are not nimble and responsive tend to have limited success. With the advent of technology and the subsequent flood of information, the speed of business increases every year. Being able to efficiently and effectively handle these demands will determine your ultimate level of success.
Background on staying nimble and responsive
Let’s first discuss what it means to be nimble in your approach. Based on our organization, being nimble means that we do not weigh ourselves down with unnecessary policies and procedures, we eliminate overhead that does not add value to what we provide, we know how to work with each other, and we continuously evaluate our processes, our software, our technology, and our deliverables.
It’s important to ask yourself the tough questions regarding whether you have the right people in the right functions, whether you have the software that meets your needs, and whether your team has the resources it needs to succeed.
This needs to be an ongoing internal evaluation process. Over the years, we have used numerous software solutions, whether for our analysis, reporting, survey programming/hosting, communications, etc. This evaluation process, and ultimately a blog I wrote about my frustrations with research software, led me to be approached by a company that provides these types of solutions (see case study on CCG here: https://www.qresearchsoftware.com/customers/cairn-consulting).
And finally, there is the idea of being responsive. Responsiveness seems obvious to most, yet sometimes, it’s easy to forget what it means to the end-user. First and foremost, you will struggle to be responsive if you are not nimble, so make sure your organization is nimble and efficient.
What is responsiveness?
Responsiveness is how you approach your work and relationships with your internal and external customers. It does not always mean answering immediately (though it’s important). It ultimately means responding effectively. This could mean a multi-staged response such as an initial “I will look into this and get back to you by the end of the day” and ensuring you follow up. You’re responding to your customers, acknowledging them, and making sure that they know they are important to you. Over the course of my career, I’ve noticed a pattern: the most successful people in business are the most responsive. The people who have achieved the highest levels of success in their industry are also the ones who will answer emails and phone calls and will acknowledge your relationship. It’s not a coincidence.
Overall, take the time to evaluate your processes, software, training, and human resources and make sure they are all functioning efficiently and that you have the right solutions in place. Make yourself nimble. Your systems and resources make you responsive, which are the keys to managing your business relationships.
Let’s Discuss Nimble Responsiveness in Business
Reach out today, and let’s have a discussion about business responsiveness and the importance of staying nimble and responsive for rapid and effective communication.
