Late Frost Kills Weak Plants

That is no surprise to any gardener.

The process of Evolution has, over many centuries (but sometimes faster with some careful selective breeding), sorted the highly adaptable from the less adaptable. The flowers and vegetables we enjoy now are either “Hardy” or not. Some highly exotic breeds are so fragile they can only prosper in a sheltered environment.

So what does the Banking Industry look like right now on Good Friday after the ice storms of the credit crunch? And, with an Easter Weekend weather forecast of frost and snow threatening the health of our gardens, and more economic “accidents” in train, what will the Bankers look like on Easter Tuesday?

The parallels are there for all to see. The “exotics”, the financial engineers, hedge fund adventurers, “leverage” experts and such, are shrivelling in the sudden chill of a simple reality – you cannot lend that which you do not have, you cannot borrow what you cannot repay, you cannot have something for nothing (as Heather Mills has just been told by a High Court Judge).

The High Street Bankers, the daffodils, violets, cabbages and turnips of the Industry, retail and business Bankers, are shivering but look likely to survive. Most of those struggling had fallen into the temptation to try to be “exotic” – to have something for nothing – the most healthy now seem to be those who least yielded to temptation. Even so, they are asking their own “Great Gardener”, the Bank of England, to have the greenhouse warm and ready, just in case.

The Competitive Strength point of view is not surprised to see this happening. It looks for real economic value in companies, not for the gloss that frothy financial reporting, and super-simplistic investment analysis so often delivers. As the next few weeks bring harsh and testing stresses to every corner of the business community, look out for those businesses that are asking for “Special Protective Measures” – they will be the low Competitive Strength organisations we call “Comfortable” and may even include some of the less weak “Excellent” (but too complacent?).

There are two other levels of Competitive Strength condition – what of them? The weakest, we call “Constrained”, will be contracting, laying off staff, selling off anything they can, looking for a buyer, seeking extra finance – or closing down. The strongest, the very few with the Competitive Strength “Free” condition, will not be unaffected, but they will not be blown off course, they will calmly manage the reality of their new situation, and they will seize every new opportunity presented by the collapse of their competitors.

Competitive Strength is made up of two components:

• How capable a business is compared with those that want to beat it
  and
• How capable it is of mitigating the impact of those forces out there that can cause it to be beaten

It is this second component that is the predominate determinant of survivability – and that Competitive Strength Report analysis does not miss out, unlike so many numerical approaches.

We have said for a considerable time that -

“Being a bit Better than Average” is now a strictly TEMPORARY and very PRECARIOUS position

Now this is becoming very very visible.

The Competitive Strength Report Process is a rapid tool that allows a company leadership to understand where they are positioned, in comparison to the very best, where their main threats lie, what the implications are and helps them decide very clearly and collectively what they need to do. There is nothing else as fast, as accessible or as affordable.

If you would like to know more about the Competitive Strength Report & Process, please look at the website – or contact us via the ChangeWORLD website