Managing People When Times Are Bad

As a person that has gone through many formal (e.g. MBA) and informal training, I realize that very few teach us how to manage the business in a downturn. Turn open the newspaper and you'll find talks advocating "how to build a brand that lasts", "how to increase sales easily" etc. Most of them are talking about how to do things in a normal economy.

But we know that currently the economy, especially Singapore, is in decline. There is no growth in the July to September 2013 Quarter. In short, hang cheng pai or 行情坏！

In bad times, here are the 5 things you must do to manage your team:

Need not use money as a motivator - because everyone is cutting bonuses, if you just maintain last year's bonus, you're already paying higher than market!
Leadership is most critical. In good times, even if you have a lousy or absent leader, the business will still grow. But now if your managers are a little ineffective, you can see all the ill effects in the business. Like quality failure, customers payment not collected, etc. So it is now critical that all MDs, CEOs, GMs, Directors and Managers be MORE AUTHORITATIVE and LESS DEMOCRATIC. Because if you act based on democratic consensus, nothing will be done! It is human nature to procrastinate, so you as the leader must lead and push for things to happen!
People must be LED to change and Managers must Manage Change. Set up a Change Management Department and leave no stones unturned. Change all things that are not working. Including clothing.
Morale, Energy and Enthusiasm will be most important. Because morale is naturally sinking day by day, the manager must make it his job to boost moral everyday.
INSPIRE People to Do Their Best is a MUST. Your team will be no better than the inspiration you gave them. But inspiration is not about talk but action. Actually there are 8 ways to inspire people. Now it's the time to take real action...

By Andy Ng of Asia Trainers, details at www.asiatrainers.com

Comments

What an Executive Coach and Business Coach Does

The Secret Under the Mattress: Why would a 79-year Man Bet So Big on 4D?

It was 2007 when we discovered his secret. While moving my father’s mattress, we found them: heaps and heaps of Singapore Pools 4D tickets. They were stacked in layers, a paper trail of lost hopes. What shocked us most wasn’t just the volume, but the stakes. He wasn’t betting a few dollars for fun. He was punting hundreds of dollars per draw—nearly ten times a month. At the time, my siblings and I were furious. Our father was a 79-year-old retiree. We wondered, with a mix of anger and confusion, why a man at his stage of life would need to win such "big money." What was he going to do with the money? We saw it as a reckless habit, a sign of poor judgment in his final years. Some of us would say, "If I were to give him money to buy 4D, why don't I use the money and buy 4D myself? At least I have better discipline". It has taken me two decades, and the experience of raising my own three grown-up children, to finally see the truth that was hidden under that matt...

Head Bleeding when the Chair Falls

The Weight of Silence: What Were We Really Arguing About? My earliest memories are punctuated by the sound of shouting. In 1970, when I was barely 6 years old, I stood as a small witness to the fierce quarrels between my father and my late eldest brother Kah Yang (he passed away in 1971 at the age of 17). As I grew up, these contradictions became the soundtrack of our lives, usually centered around our family's shoe shop and clothing stalls in Chinatown. In the court of family opinion, the verdict was almost always the same: my father was "wrong." He was judged as a man who didn't fulfill his role, who wasn't "burdening" enough for the family’s success. But as I look back from the vantage point of 2026, I have to ask: Was that actually true? Let me finally put to rest what my father did right: the truths that were buried under decades of criticism: Unseen Labor: He worked grueling, long hours. I remember him hauling boxes of goods and equipment to set u...

Business and Money Tips

Search This Blog