Estimated reading time: 3 mins
Making tough decisions in business is just part and parcel of the profession. As a leader you have more responsibility than anyone working with, under or for you. Before you can rely on other people you have to learn to trust your gut. Sometimes it may be harsh, but your instincts have clearly gotten you to a position of strength and influence for a reason. However no leader who is run by their emotions is going to last in the job for long, so it’s about being analytical, methodical and quite frankly, ruthless. You must be void of emotion and shun it whenever you feel it creeping into your critical thinking when faced with a tough choice. Coping with tough decisions can be stressful but ultimately, the main goal is to do what’s right for business. Every leader may run into common issues and not know how to deal with them, but put principles above profit and you’ll find you nip problems in the bud.
Downsizing your real-world presence
It could be because of the global economic downturn or it could be because a product has flopped, losing your business massive amounts of revenue. It doesn’t matter, when you realise you’re falling, the best way to wake up, is to smell the coffee. Downsizing the number of stores you have in cities, regions and countries is a monumental task, but the quickest way to save money. You will need to liquidate inventory on the way, so sell at a discount and do so quickly. This doesn’t mean you need to pack and leave town, centralize your outreach by erecting a standalone property instead.
A retail commercial property of a high standard, away from malls and shopping centres, should be constructed as the new presence. A company with positive feedback like the armstrong steel reviews, shows that such companies with flexible, strong, professional engineering can replace a number of your stores and convert them into one focal point for your customers. Cheap is not smart, and far from sloppy designs, such a company utilizes modern materials for a spacious business property tailor-made to fit costs and requirements.
Cutting staff
There may come a time when there’s no other option but to lose staff. It’s common to assume the worst as layoffs can trigger resentment but the bottom line is, for the greater good of the business staying afloat, you have to be strong enough to do this. To avoid denting morale explain to employees what has occurred, such as a sharp decline in orders, recession, lawsuits or whatever the case may be. There’s no need to go into detail, but align your staff with the company mood in a meeting.
Talk to them like human beings, and not cattle or robots, you’ll be surprised at how understanding they might be if you take this approach. The cutting is going to need to be ruthless, so you as a leader have got to pull up your socks as do the following. Compare and contrast each employee, the ones that have consistently come last in performance, have a lower attendance record, may have had disputes that are disruptive, had too many blunders that cost the company money, or are simply too inexperienced to get you through this tough time, should be the first to go.
