One of the most powerful facets of small business is its ability to turn on a dime—to make changes in an hour, a day, or a week—adjusting in response to changing circumstances and trends. It may take large corporations months or even years to evaluate a situation, create new strategies and implement change, but small businesses can do it overnight.
This is a powerful advantage, but it takes a savvy owner to actually do it. Many businesses do the same thing day after day, irrespective of the results. Often, the excuse is inadequate cash flow available to make changes. However, changes in strategy don’t necessarily require huge cash investments—they just require clear thinking and effective implementation.
In his book Crazy Times Call for Crazy Organizations, Tom Peters tells this story:
Paul Volker, past Federal Reserve Chief, was talking with one of Japan’s most successful foreign exchange traders. Volker asked the trader to name some of the factors he considered when evaluating possible trades. The answer was simple. It was a combination of many things, some very short-term, some medium and some long-term.
Volker asked what “long-term” meant. The man thought momentarily then responded, “Probably ten minutes.”
Most of us are not in a market that would consider ten minutes long-term, but the point is a salient one. Business owners need to address their business strategy with an eye toward what’s happening today, in this moment. If you are making a profit, figure out why and do more of it. If you are losing money, find the hemorrhage and change it immediately. Be willing to iterate with experiments you can try now, and track their impact on tomorrow. If the outcome is favorable, do it again; if it isn’t, keep iterating. That’s what small businesses can do that big businesses cannot.
Unfortunately, many small business owners resist change to their detriment. Those that prevail consistently identify new ideas, markets and strategies, and implement them confidently. Sometimes, the adjustments needed are internal, like monitoring your company’s performance so trends can be spotted early, letting you pivot your sales strategy to make the most of them. Other areas where the quick-pivot strategy can be of benefit are directional changes in production, personnel and make-or-buy decisions. Experimentation must be part of every small business owner’s strategy for success.
If you want your business to thrive, you’d be smart to embrace adaptability as a core principle. Whether it’s refining pricing strategies, rethinking marketing efforts or re-evaluating personnel decisions, it’s critical to avoid stagnation. Hesitation is often the biggest roadblock, not a lack of opportunity. Small businesses are uniquely positioned to shift gears quickly—so take full advantage of that ability, test new strategies and keep evolving.
