I recently met with the ownership team of a new client that wanted “to get after their business” instead of having “their business get after them.”  They admitted and were frustrated that they had become complacent and lazy in managing their business.  They also revealed that their business had suffered because of their complacency.

Most of us would acknowledge that we have been guilty of similar management lapses and that our businesses have suffered as a consequence.  In hindsight, we would likely be able to identify some warning signs that were early indications of complacency.  Following are some of the most common warning signs that I have seen at the senior leadership level.

• The communication between leadership team members gets sloppy; regularly scheduled meetings stop being important; problem issues are not addressed in a pro-active manner; and very little effort is made to foster communication between departments.

• There is diminishing or no discipline around business planning and implementation efforts.  Instead, the business simply runs on a day-to-day basis and becomes very reactionary in nature.

• Decisions are made without the facts needed to make them.  Part of this is due to running the business in a reactionary mode; part of this is due to laziness.

• There is a lack of discipline to pro-actively monitor and manage the actions and efforts that will lead to strong performance.  Instead, only financial performance is used to drive and direct company actions.

• Blame for poor performance is quickly transferred to others.  Limited effort is made to try to understand the cause of poor performance or to take the lead in fixing the problem.  It seems to be easier just to pass the problem onto others.

• There is reduced contact with key customers and key customer groups.  Contact shifts to be reactionary in nature.  Very little effort is made to try to understand what customers are thinking or feeling about the company, including their loyalty to the company.

• There is reduced communication with employees.  As with customers, communication becomes reactionary with very little effort being placed to nurture and strengthen employee loyalty.  Additionally, employee issues are not dealt with in a pro-active and responsive manner.

My guess is that this list did not surprise you.  We know the importance of leading in each area.  The challenge is to do so with consistent discipline.  Are there any areas that you see yourself slipping in?  If so, I hope this newsletter has served as a catalyst for you to re-engage and successfully fight complacency.

(Reprinted with permission.)