Rollercoaster of emotions

A visit to the Vienna Prater and your corporate strategy.

Years ago, my little daughter wanted an afternoon at the Prater in Vienna with all the trimmings. With a rollercoaster ride, a ride on the ghost train and pony rides. There were long negotiations beforehand - about the sequence. Lángos first or rollercoaster first?

Perhaps you know lángos? The Hungarian specialty? It's a dough flatbread made from yeast dough (in Austria: yeast dough) baked in plenty of hot fat and dripping with even more garlic oil. A must-have on Prater Day. And candy floss, that pink, sweet, fluffy dream of every child's heart.

I was glad that we agreed to go on the rollercoaster first. And that the Lángos didn't find its way into my stomach first, otherwise it would certainly have gone off during the turbulent ride ...

The destination in sight

You're probably wondering now: What is the connection to electroplating now?

Two facts:

1. The sequence must be known and defined so that no mishap occurs. Neither when visiting the Prater nor in the order of the baths to be used.
2. It is essential to have a clear goal in mind. In other words, a carefree day in the Prater for everyone involved that will be remembered positively for a long time, on the one hand. On the other hand, a profitable business, committed employees, full order books, a balanced professional and private life.

The strategic orientation

Do you know Seneca, the Roman philosopher who lived around 2000 years ago? Some wise sayings are attributed to him. For example: "If you don't know the harbor you're sailing into, no wind is right for you".

Employees and customers are guided by the company's mission statement and philosophy. You, dear entrepreneur, are measured against it. Is it really lived from the very top down to the lowest floors? Does the company spirit permeate all areas down to the very bottom? Do all members of staff know what is really important to you? What your plans are now and in the future?

The company mission statement

Seneca's quote gives us plenty of scope to let our thoughts and imagination run wild. And here are the appropriate questions:

• What could the image look like for your company? Are you going on a big trip around the world or do you prefer to sail across Lake Constance? Which company port do you start from? Small, but nice and unknown? Or large, well-organized and well-known?
• What is your business port of destination? Where is it located? Which staff boat are you traveling on? A huge container ship, a sleek sailing boat or a one-man dinghy, or do you manage an entire fleet? Do you call at many points along the way?
• What business cargo do you have on board? Is it light or heavy? What chemicals have you loaded? Are the goods suitable for a drum or a rack system?
• How big is the company crew? Who is the captain? Who is the helmsman and who is responsible for the machines? Is there mutiny from time to time? Is there more swearing or passionate singing? And, and, and ...

Bosses are only human and need a goal in mind

The clearer you as a manager have a picture of the company's goal, the clearer you as a leader have a picture of the goal for your department, the more calmly you will deal with the storms of day-to-day professional challenges. You will always be able to align your direction with your goal. Especially now, in times of unpredictability, the pandemic, various variants that constantly provide new (unpleasant) surprises, extremely long delivery times for chemicals and spare parts, short-time working, demotivated employees on short-time working.

Strategic controlling

For me, one of the best and clearest management tools is the balanced scorecard. It is already a challenge to formulate strategies. It becomes even greater when it comes to concrete implementation.

With the Balanced Scorecard, the vision and strategy are broken down into 4 questions. Briefly and simply summarized:

1. The financial perspective: How do the expectations of investors affect your financial targets?
2. The process perspective: How do you design your internal processes to achieve your vision?
3. The potential perspective: How do you promote your potential for change and growth?
4. The customer perspective: How do you present yourself to your customers in order to achieve your goals?

I also consider another very important point:

5. The risk perspective: what risks and opportunities can you define for your company and how do you deal with them?

The theory sounds good. In practice, it looks very different

But of course nobody admits that they don't have a plan and are (sometimes) really overwhelmed. If the bank doesn't provide any more money. The employee has been making mistakes for a long time and smells of alcohol, but you can't get a replacement. The full order books cannot be processed because the subcontractors have delivery times that are beyond good and evil.

A day in the Prater on the roller coaster with lángos dripping with garlic oil and pink candy floss in your belly for dessert is a real alternative! Or is it?