| In 2009, I wrote an article called "Innovate or Die!" A | | | | Many knowledge service organizations were severely |
| strongly worded title, you may think, but the premise of | | | | hit by the crisis. At the end of 2008, a market survey |
| the piece was that only innovative companies would | | | | showed that over 70 per cent of consulting firms |
| survive the recession. Now we seem to be emerging | | | | were unable to estimate their billable resource load - |
| from gloom, perhaps it's a good time to re-evaluate the | | | | and thus their revenue - more than one month ahead. |
| situation. | | | | They needed business process systems to run their |
| Control, transparency and prudence are the key areas | | | | business and many of them paid a high price when the |
| where many businesses have fallen short over the | | | | crisis hit them. |
| last few years. And these are the areas on which | | | | Project profitability analysis: |
| companies need to concentrate on if they are to avoid | | | | Leading bankers and investors often say that if they |
| a repeat of the last few years. | | | | had acted on the knowledge available in their systems, |
| 70% of consulting firms don't know their business | | | | they could have acted to avoid the situation they |
| outlook a month ahead: | | | | ended up in. It has been a bumpy ride for many |
| It's fair to say that the companies that were most | | | | companies in 2008 and 2009, but what enabled the |
| severely hit by the crisis were those that didn't have a | | | | winners to weather the storm? They had the right |
| full overview of their business and didn't have the right | | | | systems that provided them with all the data they |
| business processes in place, as well as the necessary | | | | needed to assess their business outlook correctly. And |
| insight into their business. | | | | they used the knowledge to make the right decisions - |
| This was very evident in our industry, the IT sector. On | | | | in time. |
| the one hand, some companies were so devoted to | | | | The crisis may be fading away, but double-digit growth |
| growth before the crisis that they had lost sight of | | | | rates are unlikely to return anytime soon. We all need |
| what was happening with their core business. They | | | | to prepare for a period without much growth - at least |
| failed to properly manage their order flow, clients, | | | | in the Western hemisphere. More than ever before, |
| project resources and human resources. On the other | | | | we need to develop and reinvent ourselves to create |
| hand, other companies were in complete control of | | | | a platform for new growth - based on control, |
| their current and future business, allowing them to | | | | transparency and prudence. |
| adjust their business in time to weather the storm. | | | | |