It’s a Small World After All

The debate on whether big organizations are better than small ones is certainly playing out in the new social economy. Large companies are facing extreme challenges in this economic downturn and have had to downsize and lose some of the best talent in the workforce. This trend will give birth to millions of new businesses over the next several years as individuals carve out their niche to generate an income and the virtual business marketplace continues to gain momentum.

Like many business trends in various industries in the past, as social media gains momentum, companies will consolidate and merge their organizations in an effort to stay on top and beat the competition. It can be a very cut throat process and as the saying goes “only the strong will survive.”

Well, it seems that some of largest and strongest companies in the world are currently on their lips, gasping for their last breath. While consolidation, mergers and acquisitions might have made sense on paper, and financial models may have indicated certain savings and enhanced efficiencies, many of these growth strategies have cost millions of employees their jobs, damaged employee morale and is now exposing weaknesses in the one key area that matters most; relationship with the consumer.

The Auto Industry is just one example of the many industries currently floundering, but a good example to make my point. How much do you want to bet that back in the day, when a customer had concerns about their vehicle, or there were problems at the factory, that Henry Ford tended to these sensitive issues and personally took care of business personally?

Do you think the business culture at Ford Motors would be different today if he was still running the company?

How big can a company get and not lose the very soul that birthed it?

I’m not saying that all mergers, acquisitions and consolidation efforts are not an effective method to grow a company; there are some very large companies that have excelled with these growth strategies and have managed to master the people business – its employees and their customers. But, the companies I have identified are still being run by their founders. Virgin is one of those organizations – Southwest Airlines another and there are certainly others; but large organizations like these that are highly regarded by their employees and customers are very difficult to find.

It was an individual (s) dream and unwavering determination along with a commitment of excellence to employees and the customer that gave life to some of our greatest companies. They were built in an era when friends, neighbors and customers were extensions of your family. It seems that the advancements we have made in technology and business has come at the expense of the social values that the greatest business entrepreneurs in the history of our country built their companies on.

Have we advanced? Do we have higher standards and a better quality of life?

I don’t presume to posses the answers to the questions above; but like you, I am certainly pondering these questions and reflecting on many of the conversations I have every week with business professionals that are finding themselves in very difficult situations. I believe people are wanting – no, demanding more out of every aspect of their lives, including the companies they work for and the ones they do business with.

Because of social media, the world is getting to be a much smaller place and it is certain to make our corporate cultures much smaller as well; maybe not in scope in every case, but certainly in operational philosophy. Employees are people and consumers are too – big companies will need to be effective at having quality, meaningful relationships with both, or they won’t be in business much longer. We live in a small world after all…