well - but more often they don't realise that they actually need to change their behaviour!

People don't know of any effective alternative behaviour. Building consistent credibility and reliability requires a different set of internal and external approaches. These may be unfamiliar to people - and, if so, they have no way of applying what works.

People get stuck in a rut! Even if you have handled the three above, it doesn't guarantee consistent new behaviour! Sometimes people can't let go of habitual ‘short-term results' behaviour.

Has any of this rung true with you? If so...

How long are you willing to put up with feeling and behaving as if the business will fail this month unless you make a heroic effort? How long are you going to crisis-man

These days we're meeting a lot of people with a particularly frustrating problem: their business is in a constant state of crisis.

There are a lot of situations where crisis management is appropriate. When a business is at a real risk of losing its biggest customer within a quarter, it really is a crisis! When a business is going to file for bankruptcy unless enough costs are cut this year, it really is a crisis!

We're not talking about these unfortunate events - we're talking about when it seems as if every quarter is a fight for survival even though there is actually no real threat to the survival of the business. We're talking about when making the numbers always turns into a frantic sprint to the finish - and you have no real time to recover before you're in the middle of the next sprint.

The Business Has Moved On, Management Has Not

What's happening here is that the business has shifted states but its leaders haven't altered their behaviour. Every new business starts out in a ‘survival' state. The overarching priority is being able to pay the bills. If there isn't enough income to cover the bills the business won't survive! In this state, crisis management is an appropriate style, involving hands-on management and ‘all hands to the pump'. It's very powerful in producing short-term results - which are crucial for the short-term survival of the business.

When the business moves on from ‘survival', it's vital for management behaviour to move on to consolidating the business. Managers should focus on a different set of activities to build consistent credibility and reliability: creating efficient business processes, building basic management skills, establishing mature teamwork, clarifying roles and calling people to account for the results they will produce. The hands-on management style that worked before will not work to do this. Managers need skills in training, coaching and delegation.

Unfortunately, this transition rarely happens seamlessly - and sometimes we see it doesn't happen at all!

The Impact Is Larger Than Most People Realise

When the business shifts beyond survival but the business leaders don't shift their behaviour, there are 3 outcomes:

1. The business will never reach consistent credibility and reliability. Consistent credibility and reliability require business processes to replace the need for individual heroes. If people are constantly in a state of crisis, they don't have time to develop robust processes. Crisis management doesn't work in developing consistency - only in resolving crises.
2. Good people will eventually leave. Have you had any off-the-record conversations with people who are on the verge of leaving their companies because of this? We have.
3. When good people leave, the business often falls back a stage. In this case to one of an actual threat to survival. Unfortunately, we also know of examples where this has happened - this is the inevitable consequence of long-term sustained crisis management.

Why Does Management Behaviour Get Stuck In Survival?

There are four barriers that can be present:

1. Crisis management works to deliver short-term results. In the focus on producing results (which should never go away), people stick with what has worked in the past.
2. People don't realise how they are behaving. Sometimes people understand that the business has moved on and that their way of management should as well - but more often they don't realise that they actually need to change their behaviour!
3. People don't know of any effective alternative behaviour. Building consistent credibility and reliability requires a different set of internal and external approaches. These may be unfamiliar to people - and, if so, they have no way of applying what works.
4. People get stuck in a rut! Even if you have handled the three above, it doesn't guarantee consistent new behaviour! Sometimes people can't let go of habitual ‘short-term results' behaviour.

Has any of this rung true with you? If so...

How long are you willing to put up with feeling and behaving as if the business will fail this month unless you make a heroic effort? How long are you going to crisis-mana

ng here is that the business has shifted states but its leaders haven't altered their behaviour. Every new business starts out in a ‘survival' state. The overarching priority is being able to pay the bills. If there isn't enough income to cover the bills the business won't survive! In this state, crisis management is an appropriate style, involving hands-on management and ‘all hands to the pump'. It's very powerful in producing short-term results - which are crucial for the short-term survival of the business.

When the business moves on from ‘survival', it's vital for management behaviour to move on to consolidating the business. Managers should focus on a different set of activities to build consistent credibility and reliability: creating efficient business processes, building basic management skills, establishing mature teamwork, clarifying roles and calling people to account for the results they will produce. The hands-on management style that worked before will not work to do this. Managers need skills in training, coaching and delegation.

Unfortunately, this transition rarely happens seamlessly - and sometimes we see it doesn't happen at all!

The Impact Is Larger Than Most People Realise

When the business shifts beyond survival but the business leaders don't shift their behaviour, there are 3 outcomes:

1. The business will never reach consistent credibility and reliability. Consistent credibility and reliability require business processes to replace the need for individual heroes. If people are constantly in a state of crisis, they don't have time to develop robust processes. Crisis management doesn't work in developing consistency - only in resolving crises.
2. Good people will eventually leave. Have you had any off-the-record conversations with people who are on the verge of leaving their companies because of this? We have.
3. When good people leave, the business often falls back a stage. In this case to one of an actual threat to survival. Unfortunately, we also know of examples where this has happened - this is the inevitable consequence of long-term sustained crisis management.

Why Does Management Behaviour Get Stuck In Survival?

There are four barriers that can be present:

1. Crisis management works to deliver short-term results. In the focus on producing results (which should never go away), people stick with what has worked in the past.
2. People don't realise how they are behaving. Sometimes people understand that the business has moved on and that their way of management should as well - but more often they don't realise that they actually need to change their behaviour!
3. People don't know of any effective alternative behaviour. Building consistent credibility and reliability requires a different set of internal and external approaches. These may be unfamiliar to people - and, if so, they have no way of applying what works.
4. People get stuck in a rut! Even if you have handled the three above, it doesn't guarantee consistent new behaviour! Sometimes people can't let go of habitual ‘short-term results' behaviour.

Has any of this rung true with you? If so...

How long are you willing to put up with feeling and behaving as if the business will fail this month unless you make a heroic effort? How long are you going to crisis-man

ying roles and calling people to account for the results they will produce. The hands-on management style that worked before will not work to do this. Managers need skills in training, coaching and delegation.

Unfortunately, this transition rarely happens seamlessly - and sometimes we see it doesn't happen at all!

The Impact Is Larger Than Most People Realise

When the business shifts beyond survival but the business leaders don't shift their behaviour, there are 3 outcomes:

1. The business will never reach consistent credibility and reliability. Consistent credibility and reliability require business processes to replace the need for individual heroes. If people are constantly in a state of crisis, they don't have time to develop robust processes. Crisis management doesn't work in developing consistency - only in resolving crises.
2. Good people will eventually leave. Have you had any off-the-record conversations with people who are on the verge of leaving their companies because of this? We have.
3. When good people leave, the business often falls back a stage. In this case to one of an actual threat to survival. Unfortunately, we also know of examples where this has happened - this is the inevitable consequence of long-term sustained crisis management.

Why Does Management Behaviour Get Stuck In Survival?

There are four barriers that can be present:

1. Crisis management works to deliver short-term results. In the focus on producing results (which should never go away), people stick with what has worked in the past.
2. People don't realise how they are behaving. Sometimes people understand that the business has moved on and that their way of management should as well - but more often they don't realise that they actually need to change their behaviour!
3. People don't know of any effective alternative behaviour. Building consistent credibility and reliability requires a different set of internal and external approaches. These may be unfamiliar to people - and, if so, they have no way of applying what works.
4. People get stuck in a rut! Even if you have handled the three above, it doesn't guarantee consistent new behaviour! Sometimes people can't let go of habitual ‘short-term results' behaviour.

Has any of this rung true with you? If so...

How long are you willing to put up with feeling and behaving as if the business will fail this month unless you make a heroic effort? How long are you going to crisis-man

y leave. Have you had any off-the-record conversations with people who are on the verge of leaving their companies because of this? We have.

When good people leave, the business often falls back a stage. In this case to one of an actual threat to survival. Unfortunately, we also know of examples where this has happened - this is the inevitable consequence of long-term sustained crisis management.

Why Does Management Behaviour Get Stuck In Survival?

There are four barriers that can be present:

1. Crisis management works to deliver short-term results. In the focus on producing results (which should never go away), people stick with what has worked in the past.
2. People don't realise how they are behaving. Sometimes people understand that the business has moved on and that their way of management should as well - but more often they don't realise that they actually need to change their behaviour!
3. People don't know of any effective alternative behaviour. Building consistent credibility and reliability requires a different set of internal and external approaches. These may be unfamiliar to people - and, if so, they have no way of applying what works.
4. People get stuck in a rut! Even if you have handled the three above, it doesn't guarantee consistent new behaviour! Sometimes people can't let go of habitual ‘short-term results' behaviour.

Has any of this rung true with you? If so...

How long are you willing to put up with feeling and behaving as if the business will fail this month unless you make a heroic effort? How long are you going to crisis-man

well - but more often they don't realise that they actually need to change their behaviour!

People don't know of any effective alternative behaviour. Building consistent credibility and reliability requires a different set of internal and external approaches. These may be unfamiliar to people - and, if so, they have no way of applying what works.

People get stuck in a rut! Even if you have handled the three above, it doesn't guarantee consistent new behaviour! Sometimes people can't let go of habitual ‘short-term results' behaviour.

Has any of this rung true with you? If so...

How long are you willing to put up with feeling and behaving as if the business will fail this month unless you make a heroic effort? How long are you going to crisis-manage the business when it's not really in a crisis - while at the same time not spending enough time developing the reliable business processes needed for stability?

Are you going to do something to interrupt this cycle this month? If you don't, you can be sure you will have the same experience next month! How long are you going to put up with it?