Few people know that I love to trade stocks. One of the hardest lessons to learn about trading is to strategize the trade, and not buy or sell when emotions are swinging high.
My husband and I both read economic and investment news and discuss what’s happening daily.
“Is it time to sell?” my husband asked me.
“No, not yet,” I replied, contradicting the news headlines and pundits warning of an impending market crash.
I’ve learned not to listen to the pundits being paid to sell their opinions. I do my own research, analysis, establish a strategy, trade, work my plan, and adjust depending on what's happening in the market.
How you go about strategizing a stock trade can be compared to developing a strategy for a business.
Here’s a straightforward process to adapt to change better than your competitors do:
- Anticipate change, assess impact, identify opportunities, avoid threats on the horizon
- Develop a plan
- Work the plan
- Regularly assess outcomes, change happening, pivot
Almost all businesses have some level of a strategic and financial plan established. However, once change occurs, which is always happening, business owners and their employees often begin making decisions based on emotions ... if a plan to adapt to, and capitalize on change, does not exist.
In my work with organizations, I have discovered that the most successful companies, in terms of growth and profitability, are the most adaptive to change. The companies who devise a better way of capitalizing on change are the ones that emerge as winners.
To be able to quickly and effectively respond to change an organization needs to have:
- Market Agility – be able to identify potential opportunities created by market change
- Decision Agility – generate creative alternatives for capitalizing on opportunities and making sound decisions when the future is uncertain
- Execution Agility – execute a new direction, navigate when a sharp turn in direction is required and flexibly adjust course as events unfold
Planning for Change
Have you identified the changes (macro, market, internal) that may impact your business and the world?
Does your organization have a process in place to effectively capitalize on transformations you’re witnessing— or manage less-than-desirable change?
If you answered yes to these questions great work!
If you answered no consider the following questions with your team:
- What type of change might occur in your business and the world (Macro, Market, Internal)?
- What evidence do you see that change is happening?
- What might happen?
- What is the impact on profit (High, Medium, Low)?
- What is the level of uncertainty and how might this affect us (High, Medium, Low)?
The next step is to then prioritize and act!
Being able to rapidly and continuously adapt to change better than competitors ensures the business will stay ahead to achieve a lasting advantage over competitors and win in the market.
It would be my pleasure to talk with you about specific action steps you and your team can take to develop a change process on your own, or with my help. Call 847.989.0513 or use the web form.