Are there bad businesses?

In my opinion, NO. there are no bad businesses. There are badly run businesses bit not bad businesses. Someone, somehow, somewhere is making money from that very same business.

If we take automobiles and look at Ford or GM, we may conclude that the car business is a bad business to be in. Yet if we look at Toyota or Honda we would say, its a very good business to be in. What’s the difference? They way the businesses are managed.

Laker Airways and People Express tried the low cost model and failed… bad business or bad management? Southwest who are in the exact same category are flying high… good business or good management?

It is high time that we realize that the real question is good management or bad management and not good business or bad business. If there is money to be made, someone is going to do it.

So if it is as simple as good management or bad management, why then do we see so many companies floundering around? The answer lies in a: knowing where the buck stops, and b: clarity about the buck.

If you very quickly want to turn a bad business into a good business, then focus on making people accountable and to be clear of what they are accountable for. It is as simple as that.

So if it is so simple, why doesn’t everyone do it? Well, because of our kind human nature. We are actually very tolerant and have high thresholds of pain in accepting and tolerating being mediocre. We approach similar situations with different styles, we moan about it, groan about it, but will not do anything about it in hope that the situation will resolve itself. And for the person talking about, he feels that he has done his job as he has brought the matter to light. In the meantime the organization just spirals down until it wakes up to the reality….