Monday, April 11, 2011
Combating Failure
This happens often to companies. They are heroes for a time then suddenly, failures. The magic is gone. Competitors take away sales and market share. The companies are put on the block for someone, anyone to buy and take off the hands of an unhappy parent. What isn't discussed is how employees of such failed companies feel and how one motivates them to keep trying when they know they are a disappointment. Some people have already jumped ship and those who remain either have nowhere to go or are committed to a dying project.
The first order of business is leadership. Someone has to stop the bleeding, restructure the business for profit, no matter how small and give it a future. The leader also is tasked with internal relations -- giving employees direction and hope, even if he has to fire many of them. And, he has to reestablish relationships with customers to make the company viable again. It is not a task for the fainthearted. The leader must become the focus of communications and its font by keeping directions clear for everyone no matter what happens. It is a time for simple messaging repeated often until the millions of daily activities in a company are aligned with the leader's intent. From a PR perspective, it is hard work, and it might not be rewarding if the company is unable to move forward, but there is satisfaction if it does. This is what is facing Myspace.
The first order of business is leadership. Someone has to stop the bleeding, restructure the business for profit, no matter how small and give it a future. The leader also is tasked with internal relations -- giving employees direction and hope, even if he has to fire many of them. And, he has to reestablish relationships with customers to make the company viable again. It is not a task for the fainthearted. The leader must become the focus of communications and its font by keeping directions clear for everyone no matter what happens. It is a time for simple messaging repeated often until the millions of daily activities in a company are aligned with the leader's intent. From a PR perspective, it is hard work, and it might not be rewarding if the company is unable to move forward, but there is satisfaction if it does. This is what is facing Myspace.
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