As the colloquialism goes, "you can't manage what you can't measure." While this holds true at multiple levels of a business's lifecycle, it is particularly applicable to post-turnaround businesses seeking to avert a natural default back to bad management habits. After a successful turnaround ongoing improvement hinges on strategic development, cross-functional communication and performance measurement of three key strategies: sales and marketing programs, operational controls, and management efficiencies.
While the importance of each function may seem obvious, it is not uncommon for management to ultimately break communication through the departments and drop into myopic silos. If a sales and marketing program generates effective results, but the inventory or organizational budgeting are not planned for growth, engineered business functions will derail. Likewise, if non-revenue generating operating expenses are increased without increased sales, strategic business planning will ultimately suffer. Strategies to steer a company through a short-term turnaround can differ form those than ensure long-term success. For continued improvement it is imperative to make the shift to strategic development of managed growth and effective measurement of control metrics to maintain optimal efficiency. Failure to do so can lead to renewed distress.
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