Taboo topics
In the process of development, every company inevitably goes through a series of stages. Various Western researchers (Greiner, Torbert, Shane ...) offer their organization life cycle schemes. Interestingly, most researchers offer the final stage of the life cycle “maturity”. Adizes is almost the only one who distinguishes such a logical stage as “death”.
As a result, the average manager or business owner who has not made crisis management or liquidation of enterprises his profession is completely unprepared for what will happen inside the company on the eve and in the bankruptcy process.
The consultants will be happy to tell you “how to build a sales force in 5 days” and “implement agile”. They will help to hire an anglazy top. They will drink coffee with you, wondering how much to request for consulting support of the company based on its margin. Success has many helpers.
But as soon as you find yourself in a gloomy pre-bankruptcy zone, you will be left alone with all your financial and managerial problems. You, with your inability to pay bills and cope with becoming an unmanageable team, will become alien to normal successful people. The right issue for discussion in the business community is “how to enter a new market” and “but I have one main customer, what to do.” The loss of 5-10-20 years of work, money, status, emotional burnout, psychosomatics - this is the wrong, unsuccessful issue, which has nowhere to relate. Deal with her, and then have to resurrect yourself.
Several trends
Without pretending to be objective and consistent with modern management theories, I will share several trends that may turn out to be interesting for colleagues. They are addressed to both business owners and hired managers trying to deal with the situation.
- This is a long time process. It may not work out quickly, especially if you do not have a startup of three people [they closed the macbooks, drank the raff, parted on gyro scooters], but rather a large company. Complete business processes, deal with contractors, fire people, sell real estate ... it takes time, effort, good management skills. In addition, if this is all done for the first time, there are simply no ready-made procedures or a formed skill. Here you rather need to be a styer than a sprinter.
- The energy intensity of the process. The energy intensity in this place is extremely high, this is how to do a new business with “0”, but with a minus sign. This is such a startup on the contrary. When an employee works for three, because the business is developing rapidly, people have not been hired yet, but all the fellows and heroes are one emotional feeling. When an employee works for three, because they have already been fired, and here are their empty tables, and he will be fired too soon - this is completely different.
- Legal field. In order to cope with emerging cases in the conditions of a lack of resources, an idea may arise to compromise with the current legislation. There are more risks in this place than with the smooth functioning of the business.
- We have to destroy the results of our own labor. For example, you have gathered a team of unique specialists for several years, and now you need to fire them. Your achievements, to which you have gone, the unique technologies that you have developed, lose their meaning, depreciate, no one else needs, are destroyed.
Team and redistribution of power - view from the owner
Speaking about the situation in the team, those problems with the people who you had before will seem like a magical New Year's corporate party in Prague. When the “chief of the ataman runs out of gold”, the situation is something like this:
- you need the strongest and most effective team members to close questions and deal with emerging cases,
- you need to free staff that is no longer necessary, and fast enough so as not to multiply wage arrears,
- you have nothing to pay them.
In fact, everything will be exactly the opposite of how you need:
- the most effective ones will seek to go where they can earn money, they have options, and they will strive the more, the longer the process drags on,
- those whom you want to dismiss will want to get all the guarantees laid down by labor legislation (and people can absolutely be understood in this),
- even when people signed the documents, there simply may not be money for the final settlement, and dismissal is impossible. And the amounts of payments are significant, since you dismiss them in bulk.
As a result, you lead people who: do not receive a salary (not completely, not on time), are no longer afraid of a leader (you have no leverage), their goals are opposite to yours, and they cannot be replaced. The result, management efficiency and group dynamics in the team can be imagined by any experienced manager.
And what's inside the team
Meanwhile, the company employees are also not at all fun. Previously created and working business processes, procedures, and regulations lose their meaning. Corporate culture is being eroded, the previous guidelines of corporate good and evil are being lost. Labor discipline suffers, previously impossible incidents and misconduct of employees arise. The quality and expertise of the work performed is reduced, it is not clear to people whether what they are doing makes sense at all.
In general, there is a lot of uncertainty in the corporate field - a lack of objective information at all levels, the impossibility of planning, a little hard to rely on. The number of rumors, gossip, and assumptions is increasing. The level of stress and nervousness in the team increases tremendously. Lost confidence in management.
Negative changes occur, visible at the physical level, and affecting the collective morale. For example, empty desks of laid-off employees, sale of property, moving to a worse office - such things have a demotivating effect on the remaining staff.
Choice of hired manager
In an interesting situation is a hired manager. He is like an electron - both a particle and a wave.
On the one hand, he is an employee working for a salary, with well-known financial obligations [food for a cat, loans, dependents, maintaining a habitual way of life]. He needs status in the professional community and a CV success story. Common sense dictates that you take your money [while you can] and leave the sinking ship.
On the other hand, the loyalty of the company, a sense of personal contribution to failure, responsibility for the team, the desire to correctly complete their processes are forced to stay. To remain in a not very positive atmosphere, on not very positive financial conditions, to do things with pens is not very positive, in a not very positive emotional state.
Everyone makes a choice, but for the most loyal and decent, I have two questions:
- Are you sure that in this situation you are a rational item of expenses and are you worth your money? It may be better without you, but pay the bills?
- there is a possibility that when everything is over, you will be left without money and in the most burnt out state - well, that is, you will not be able to sell yourself or open your own anything. Have a plan? ..
Optimistic ending
... it should be here, but it will not be. Popular literature advocates a “hooray” approach, in the sense that “the main experience”, “the soul is improved by suffering”, “great businessmen started 20 times with“ 0 ”and so on.
I consider such an experience to be quite destructive and harmful to the psyche and health. Not the fact that you can monetize it. Your environment will sooner respect you less than more. Family problems may occur.
In this regard, it is necessary to minimize costs. I see the following points: take care of physical health (it will sprinkle); take care of emotional stability (in any way acceptable to you); prepare to rely only on yourself, as the people around you will surprise you; limit spending and prestigious consumption.
In the end, it is likely that it is you who, having assimilated this almost existential experience, will become stronger and understand something about your life (or not).