The new battleground
If not, then you must be doing something wrong. When the economy is up 5 percent, this means that many industries will be up 10-15 percent or even more. And that means that certain companies are up 20-30 percent. Are you one of them?
The glory days are here again. For those of you here since the mid 90s, you can recall the days of unbridled growth and optimism. Well, now that Poland's industry is largely restructured, infrastructure much better, and most economic indicators positive, we may be in for the best stretch of growth that this country will see for the next 20 years. But don't kid yourself-It won't be easy.
There's only one problem: competition. Along with this glorious growth come more competitors. Polish competitors. German competitors. Heck, even the Chinese and Russians are starting to invest in Poland. So there's no time to stand still and pat ourselves on the back for surviving the hard times. If we are not prepared for the impending struggle for growth, we shall become rotting corpses on the new Polish business battlefield.
This new battle will look very different to the previous one. When Poland first underwent the economic changes of the early 90s, almost everyone made money. There was massive pent up demand, and shortage of supply. First mover advantage meant everything. Anyone with a car and a little cash could make money. There are hundreds of millionaires in Poland today who can thank their lucky stars that they don't have to do it again today-because they probably couldn't.
'Right time, right place' is a great formula for success, but rarely does history offer such chances twice.
No, this next boom will be much different. The next Polish expansion will look much more like the US growth in the 80's under Reagan: small businesses becoming medium sized companies; medium companies combining to become large ones; large ones growing into giants.
Making it to the next level will take much more than just energy and youthful enthusiasm. Only sophisticated, well-managed companies will thrive. And to be very frank, we don't see a whole lot of those around. For the most part, among smaller companies doing business in Poland, service still sucks.
If we had to come up with a list of what it will take to emerge from this coming boom as a winner, we would put our money on the following:
1. Much more attention to employee development. Everyone talks the talk, but few walk the walk. As Jim Collins puts it: "People are not the key to your success. Good people are." Figure out how to recruit the right people, get rid of the weak ones, and develop the hell out of the rest.
2. Getting your systems and procedures right to handle growth. Build a disciplined organization. There are very few of those around in Poland. If you can figure that out here, you can win big.
3. Being more innovative in product development. Whatever you sell, figure out how to make it stand out from your competitors. 'Me too' means commodity. Commodity means low prices. Low prices mean low profits. Make your product different and reap the rewards.
4. Selling solutions instead of products and services. We don't care what you sell-computers, real estate, or T-shirts-customers are looking for solutions.
5. Creating a lasting vision for your company. Most importantly, getting all of your employees to buy into the vision and coordinating their efforts so that everything you do helps you achieve 'the goal.'
With one month to go before the New Year begins, ask yourself: "Are we ready for the biggest battle of our lives?"
The buzzwords for 2005 and beyond are 'grow or die.' If you haven't started developing a plan yet for how you will grow, then start digging.
The glory days are here again. For those of you here since the mid 90s, you can recall the days of unbridled growth and optimism. Well, now that Poland's industry is largely restructured, infrastructure much better, and most economic indicators positive, we may be in for the best stretch of growth that this country will see for the next 20 years. But don't kid yourself-It won't be easy.
There's only one problem: competition. Along with this glorious growth come more competitors. Polish competitors. German competitors. Heck, even the Chinese and Russians are starting to invest in Poland. So there's no time to stand still and pat ourselves on the back for surviving the hard times. If we are not prepared for the impending struggle for growth, we shall become rotting corpses on the new Polish business battlefield.
This new battle will look very different to the previous one. When Poland first underwent the economic changes of the early 90s, almost everyone made money. There was massive pent up demand, and shortage of supply. First mover advantage meant everything. Anyone with a car and a little cash could make money. There are hundreds of millionaires in Poland today who can thank their lucky stars that they don't have to do it again today-because they probably couldn't.
'Right time, right place' is a great formula for success, but rarely does history offer such chances twice.
No, this next boom will be much different. The next Polish expansion will look much more like the US growth in the 80's under Reagan: small businesses becoming medium sized companies; medium companies combining to become large ones; large ones growing into giants.
Making it to the next level will take much more than just energy and youthful enthusiasm. Only sophisticated, well-managed companies will thrive. And to be very frank, we don't see a whole lot of those around. For the most part, among smaller companies doing business in Poland, service still sucks.
If we had to come up with a list of what it will take to emerge from this coming boom as a winner, we would put our money on the following:
1. Much more attention to employee development. Everyone talks the talk, but few walk the walk. As Jim Collins puts it: "People are not the key to your success. Good people are." Figure out how to recruit the right people, get rid of the weak ones, and develop the hell out of the rest.
2. Getting your systems and procedures right to handle growth. Build a disciplined organization. There are very few of those around in Poland. If you can figure that out here, you can win big.
3. Being more innovative in product development. Whatever you sell, figure out how to make it stand out from your competitors. 'Me too' means commodity. Commodity means low prices. Low prices mean low profits. Make your product different and reap the rewards.
4. Selling solutions instead of products and services. We don't care what you sell-computers, real estate, or T-shirts-customers are looking for solutions.
5. Creating a lasting vision for your company. Most importantly, getting all of your employees to buy into the vision and coordinating their efforts so that everything you do helps you achieve 'the goal.'
With one month to go before the New Year begins, ask yourself: "Are we ready for the biggest battle of our lives?"
The buzzwords for 2005 and beyond are 'grow or die.' If you haven't started developing a plan yet for how you will grow, then start digging.
