Published On: Fri, Jul 23rd, 2021

Positive action results in positive outcomes

We have been here before and will be here again…. There is no doubt that the ever playing record of restrictions on our lives from the Covid pandemic will remain for a good few months yet. However, the positive attitude demonstrated by so many in our sector has been the shining light giving hope over the last 12 months. It has often been a tough task to keep the doom-mongers out of the pages of Windows Active. In so many aspects of our lives we have been presented with new sets of challenges over the last year, some have risen to these challenges whilst others have become intertwined in the weeds. The overriding recipe for success has been companies and individuals ability to deal with change.

I was reminded recently of a simple business book entitled ‘Who moved my cheese’ that perfectly illustrated the challenge faced by many businesses (and people). Reliant on a single source of cheese, some mice happily returned each day to feast on their daily supply of food. When one day it didn’t appear, some waited for the following day believing it would return. Unfortunately the cheese never returned. One wise mouse decided to find a new source leaving the others to remain waiting for a day that would never happen. The lesson was clear, good things never last for ever and sometimes you have to adapt to change in order to thrive. In history the Luddites were another group opposed to change, in early day cotton mills they were opposed to the introduction of automation and destroyed the machinery believing it would threaten their jobs. Today, a person is often referred to as a Luddite if they oppose new technology or ways of working. The pandemic has highlighted these individuals and in some cases made them irrelevant in the new world. Luckily our industry is characterised by forward thinking and dynamic individuals who readily facilitate change and new ideas – characteristics that should never be underestimated.

It is important we draw on positive experiences and then use these to help shape the future for the better. Technology is a fine example of this. Remote selling has been a fantastic tool for retailers and installers. It won’t ever replace face-to-face contact, however it can really ease the sales process for homeowners by removing the early stages of pressurised selling. The negativity that has surrounded the supply shortages within the construction industry has also been a difficult one to avoid. It has become an unavoidable issue for so many in the trade, with solutions hard to come by. What it has done is create a greater desire for choice and placed an increased importance on magazines and search engines to help deliver wider product choice and sources. Further change is happening in the employment market, and again we could become embroiled in all the issues and reasons behind the skills shortage. Positive action results in positive outcomes. Those firms that have tackled the problem head-on and looked for solutions are seeing progress. The single most important lesson we can take from the last 12 months is if you stick to the same strategy or action that hasn’t delivered results over the last year, it is very likely to continue to fail. To be successful in business you need to identify the weakness and adapt and change. It often only requires a small tweak, a mere diversion around a brick wall that blocks a road to more sales and success. Hopefully the contents of Windows Active will provide information on products that will make this process easier. The demand is there, we just need to ensure we have all the tools and right mentality to take full advantage of the market potential.

John CowieEditor