Here Are the Actions to Take at Key Turns in Your Business

I always thought there are key times in the life of a business that the future of the company is either won or lost and that success is never a straight line. What happens when you aren’t aware of when those times are or don’t know what to do when they happen? What decisions do you make during the critical times?

On The Small Business Radio Show this week, Steve McKee helps identify how to recognize these turns and what actions to take when they come around. He is the cofounder of McKee Wallwork, a nationally recognized marketing advisory firm. He is the author of the book on change management called “Turns: Where Business Is Won and Lost”. Steve was a Businessweek.com columnist for a decade and currently writes a popular monthly column for SmartBrief on Leadership.

Here is what we discussed:

Steve believes we tend to think that life is a series of straightaways occasionally interrupted by turns. In reality,  life is a continuous series of turns only occasionally interrupted by stretches of smooth, straight road. As he says, “the road can’t stay straight forever”.

Steve teaches us how many turns are all around us in any given day and that some turns we don’t think much about end up being very consequential.

Steve emphasizes that it’s not a simple matter to say, “that was a good turn” or “that was a bad one.” Evaluating the success of a turn becomes more complicated than this rudimentary analysis.

He shares eight principles on how to better prepare for those curves and how to reduce uncertainty when making decisions, searching for answers, or pivoting your perspective, people, processes, and profits.

The near-death turn Steve’s company went through was partially responsible for him writing this book. It draws on a variety of fields beyond business, from sports to history to politics to religion to music.

Listen to the entire episode on The Small Business Radio Show.

Image: Steve McKee

This article, “Here Are the Actions to Take at Key Turns in Your Business” was first published on Small Business Trends

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