There are various ways to strategically reposition a company – but mostly it requires a “radical change”.
(Photo: IMAGO/MASKOT)
Dusseldorf Many of the business models that companies have tried and tested in the past are now losing their future viability – and in the interest of the company’s survival, they must be adapted, if not replaced. The reasons are the overlapping economic upheavals as a result of the corona pandemic, the Ukraine war, new geopolitical bloc formations, but also the ecological goals that are becoming increasingly important in many countries.
Against this background, the speedy publication of the second edition of “Managing Corporate Crises Successfully”, a textbook written by experienced consulting practitioners, is both proof of the need for such a guide for corporate transformations and of the overall successful conception of the first edition.
The four authors are all management consultants themselves. The task of consultants is – under the given economic and political conditions – to restore, secure or improve the future viability of companies that have got into difficulties.
Beyond the competence of management consulting, however, it is up to the political leaders to give advice on what the textbook authors consider the right policy – as is done in the chapter “Crises: macro and microeconomic aspects”. A little more restraint would be called for here – regardless of the validity of some of the allegations and the soundness of the arguments put forward, as well as the belief in one’s own freedom from ideology.
The following chapters, each with recommendations for further reading, are consistently convincing. They are didactically cleverly prepared and clearly shaped by the profound experience of the team of authors.
T. Forster, RE Ulrich, I. Ulrich, A. Gruber: Managing corporate crises successfully
Springer Gabler Verlag
Wiesbaden 2023
364 pages
54.99 euros
There, the individual stages and elements of strategic business transformations are discussed – from strategy development and corporate culture as the basis of every transformation approach to the determinants of success. The importance of psychological and social factors is emphasized in order to – in the language of the authors – “take the workforce along” and “the hearts of the employees [zu] win”.
Although the authors avoid the “internal I” or the colon to emphasize the equality and equality of employees and consistently use the masculine, it is very clear that the authors do not see psychological and social factors as very important success determinants and thus instruments of restructuring last but not least, in order to “win the hearts of the employees” during the difficult and often painful processes, as well as those of the female employees.
>>Read here: Strategies for leaders to better cope with times of crisis
The pros and cons of the various instruments of a successful strategy implementation are discussed clearly and unmistakably – and therefore helpfully. This applies not least to the importance of the digital transformation, which in the experience of the team of authors is still often underestimated.
Remarkable in this concluding chapter “Crisis management requires a “radical change” is the very clear positioning of the authors that in the case of strategic business transformations “the immediate separation of previously less successful CEOs […] is essential”. Instead, preference should be given to a “Chief Executive Officer ad interim” in these cases.
Here the authors speak to a certain extent from their own experiences. Conclusion: A successful update of a handbook for practitioners.
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