Over previous articles on this topic we have discussed a variety of issues in order to understand if your business may be in trouble. These were covered under the headings of Customer, Organisational and Finance. This week we will explore whether your business may be in trouble under the heading of Balance and Perspective. The other groups were very much focussed on business operations. This section investigates people within the organisation and how they are operating.

Balance and Perspective

1. It is no longer fun for you or your employees to be in the business - if you or your staff no longer enjoy your work this will have dramatic impacts on staff productivity, absentee levels may rise and errors are more likely to arise. Each of these has serious implications on how you service your customers. This could lead to some of the other facts we have mentioned such as loosing a major customer. Staff no longer enjoying what they do is likely to be a trigger or catalyst for bigger issues taking place within the organisation.
If you notice a change in your attitude or that of your staff take prompt action to understand what is taking place. Ignoring it will not solve the problem. Taking the time to truly understand what might have changed will ensure you minimise any impact a change in attitude by the organisation's personnel may have on its profitability and sustainability.

2. Increased stress levels for all parties working within the business - this could be perceived as being similar to the previous point. Certainly there is a close connection. This one is specifically about the expectations the organisation places on its employees.

Have demands on staff increased? If demands on staff have increased in what way has this occurred? What has lead to this increase in expectations? If you take the time to understand this you will be much better placed to minimise the impact of increased stress levels in your organisation.

A point to note though is that some of the stress staff experience may be caused by factors outside the workplace. Understanding this fact does help you to be able to determine what type of support might be most appropriate for you to access in order to provide assistance.

3. No strategic plan in place making it difficult to understand and focus on achieving results without a context - If this situation exists it is very dangerous. It really means that people are simply going through the motions which can be very demoralising and lead to ill health. Being under-stressed can become just as disabling as being overstressed.

Putting steps in place to help develop a strategic plan as soon as possible is a really important step to take. Another important ingredient here is to engage staff in its development. If you do you are less likely to experience some of the aspects described in points 1 & 2.

4. Wishfully hoping for an ‘unlikely/improbable' recovery event - just wishing and hoping an event will save you is a very risky approach. It is not that much different to ignoring the existence of a problem. Realism and pragmatism are very important skills to utilise in these situations.

As stated in the previous point having a strategy in place is a tool that can help you navigate tricky situations that your organisation might encounter. Certainly it might need to be adjusted however it does provide a framework for that to take place. Having focus and direction is a critical ingredient to ensure long term viability.

5. Limited time to have a break from the business in order to regroup - it is possible to spend far too much time ‘in' your business and not enough time ‘on' it. Time ‘on' the business is imperative. Surprisingly the best way to have time ‘on' the business can actually be to have time away from it. Spending 80 hours + at work is a sure fire way to kill creativity and innovation.

Establish time in your schedule to enable exploration of opportunities and interests outside of work. Establishing an environment for the development of creative solutions to any decisions you need to make or problems you may need to solve is highly recommended.

This is the last in the series on ‘is your business in trouble'. Hopefully now you will be aware of the warning signs and have some ideas on the steps you can take. With this awareness you should be in a better position to minimise any risks you may face. Good luck.

Carol McGowan is a Business and Life Coach, Counsellor and Educator. Her passion is helping individuals and businesses to make successful transitions. Carol has over 35 years experience in business as well assisting over 300 people make successful career transitions after having faced redundancy. She may be contacted at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it