Left unchecked, all things fall into disorder. This universal law requires that we maintain high standards of maintenance and organisation in all aspects of both life and business. As soon as we allow ourselves slack in any area, the deterioration process will begin anew.
In business, the danger is especially acute. Standard competitors and revolutionary disruptors alike will take every opportunity to poach your market share and even your talent, as soon as they catch you slipping in any area. Moreover, the complexity of business is such that some weaknesses and failings go unnoticed even within the organisation — hidden as they are within inscrutable spreadsheets and optimistic internal presentations.
Some corporate deficiencies are indeed truly invisible, as they take the form of missed opportunities rather than overt blunders. The failure to invest in a new technology, for example, may not produce measurable harm until several years have already passed — at which point the resulting shortfall in performance, compared to one’s industry rivals, may be very hard to overcome.
Because nearly everything has to go right in order for a business to succeed over long periods of time, the list of potential failures to guard against is essentially infinite. Yet a few particular shortcomings are needlessly common in the current environment, and so it is those which we will focus on here.
Internal fraud is an especially insidious problem for companies across industries, as it involves team members actively working against the interests of the team. Other topics we will discuss include the aforementioned failure to adopt new technology, as well as retention and executive recruitment issues, inadequate steps to ensure tax compliance, shortcomings regarding fundraising and cash flow, and insufficient internal controls for organisational activities.
The successful management of these threats to business success will go a long way toward stemming the tide of entropy. Solving these issues will also put your company in a much better position to tackle its other concerns, clearing the way for healthy growth and all the rewards it brings.
This guide aims to help your business identify the common points of failure that are currently plaguing so many in the private sector — and then get a handle on turning these common weaknesses into genuine areas of strength.
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