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Why do SMEs resist Digital Adoption and how to overcome it?

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There is a common theme of small and medium-sized businesses being reluctant to the idea of digitising their business processes and infrastructure especially if they have physical products.

But little did they know what they were actually uncomfortable with is their leadership mindsets that were not conducive to change and innovation. The survey conducted by Deloitte in 2016 highlights the reasons that only 44% of business leaders prepare for such disruption despite 87% of businesses knowing they are going to get the hit of digital disruption at some point yet no action gets taken. A self-induced catastrophe!

Some of the common barriers to digital adoptions are as following:

Resistance to Change

This resistance to change is reflected in all levels of an organisation such as IT department where a lack of digital processes slows down the entire workflow, leading to slower delivery of secured projects, and lesser capacity to take on new ones.

Digitally maturing companies stay ahead of the growth curve and their workforce by actively engaging in risk-taking agile collaborations, partnerships and projects. Statistics showed agile organisations achieve 30% higher profitability and 37% faster growth than non-agile businesses.

This can be achieved if the benefits of the digitised process are effectively communicated to the company hand in hand with continuous training to foster culture where innovation is valued and change is not considered a huge discomfort.

IT capacity

IT performance can easily be jeopardised if the right training is not provided to IT leaders which effectively leads to a tunnel vision towards both short-term tasks and long-term goals.

So if IT team leaders are provided adequate training and investments are made in the overall IT structure, this can help make the business scalable, resilient and flexible.

Investment in continuous Training and Education

Digital adoption training and learning opportunities for senior-level management is a key factor that further translates into creating and fostering an overall company’s culture. Therefore, it is crucial for senior management to keep their knowledge in check and look out for training focusing on future skills, digital adaptability.

In our 2nd Module of Digital Adoption of Help to Grow Management Programme, we peel the concept and practical frameworks of Digital Adoption such as the role of digital leadership, stages of digital adoption and recognising where your business is at and many more. The session will be conducted by our Expert Speaker, Eugene Fisher.

About the Speaker:

As a transformation consultant and product manager Eugene has worked with C-suite leaders in start-ups to Fortune 50s drive growth by enhancing leadership capabilities, building innovative teams and launching new products.

He takes a pragmatic and design-led approach to delivering growth; a few recent projects include testing new business propositions for a convenience foods chain with 1.2k locations, helping a new team generate £10m of business value within one year of formation, and developing the enterprise strategy for a £1b retailer.

You can find out more about the programme here: Small Business Leadership & Management Certificate Training Courses UK (kingstonuniversitybusinesstraining.com)

Entrepreneurial Leadership: Maggie Walker

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The saga of Maggie Lena Walker — a beacon of ingenuity in the turbulent seas of post-Civil War America. Her story, a vibrant tapestry of resilience and creativity, offers a treasure trove of insights for today’s small business leaders and founders through her entrepreneurial leadership.

In a recent podcast on Harvard Business Review, the conversation explored the remarkable navigation into the realm of business both as an insider being a born American and outsider due to being a Black community member in America.

Picture this; You are at the helm of a sinking ship (read: business) with a measly £31 in your account and £400 in debt. What do you do? If you’re Walker, you roll up your sleeves and get to work. She slashed costs (including her own salary — talk about leading by example) while simultaneously drumming up new members. It’s the entrepreneurial leadership, equivalent of patching holes while also building a better boat.

I have put together some of the remarkable learnings discussed in the podcast that SME owner-managers can take away from Walker’s leadership.

  1. Turnaround strategies: When facing financial difficulties, focus on both cost management and revenue growth. Walker reduced costs by cutting her own salary and consolidating operations, while simultaneously working to increase membership and expand services.
  2. Diversification and synergy: Consider creating mutually reinforcing businesses. Walker established a newspaper, bank, and store that supported each other and the broader organisation’s mission.
  3. Community focus: Serve unmet needs in your community. Walker’s businesses catered specifically to the African-American community, providing services that were otherwise unavailable to them.
  4. Perseverance: Be prepared to face and overcome significant challenges, especially if you’re breaking new ground. Walker faced discrimination and attempts to shut down her businesses but persisted.
  5. Continuous learning: Invest in your own education and seek mentorship. Walker attended night school to learn accounting and sought guidance from experienced bankers. (See our Help to Grow programme at Kingston University that grants access to10 hours of personal mentoring from Industry leaders and coaches: Help to Grow: Management Course | Kingston University (kingstonuniversitybusinesstraining.com))
  6. Innovation in leadership: Be willing to challenge norms and create new opportunities. Walker created leadership roles for women when it was uncommon to do so.
  7. Leverage personal networks: Use your connections and deep local roots to overcome challenges and gain support.
  8. Social responsibility: Consider how your business can contribute to broader social causes. Walker used her businesses to advocate for rights and improve her community’s economic situation.
  9. Adaptability: Be ready to pivot or consolidate when faced with insurmountable obstacles. When suppliers were cut off from her store, Walker focused on her other successful ventures.
  10. Start small and grow: Walker’s success came from starting with small, focused initiatives that grew over time.

These takeaways demonstrate how SME owners can navigate challenging environments, serve their communities, and grow their businesses through innovative leadership and perseverance.

Find out more about how 700+ SME business owner-managers and entrepreneurs grew their businesses with support from the Help to Grow Management Programme at Kingston University,  took off with a growth action plan and thoughtful entrepreneurial leadership: Help to Grow: Management Course | Kingston University (kingstonuniversitybusinesstraining.com)

Spaceship View for Business Leaders

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Serving twenty-four years as a NASA astronaut, Cady Coleman recently shared her profound learnings, how she stayed focused, managed stress and navigated working in cross-cultural teams in HBR podcast. Although these lessons have come from an astronaut, but they are significant lessons for SME leaders, owners and managers.

Dream on, be positive

As cliché as it may sound, Coleman thrived by keeping a positive outlook. In the podcast, she discussed having to encounter emergency simulations, drilling and remembering to keep curious about all that she did before the big space mission.

If we compare going to space with leading a business; think about what could possibly go wrong when you change the business model, sign a deal or tap into a new market. Cady Coleman reminds us to prepare ourselves with all possible outcomes with a positive mindset.

Cultivate a work culture where mistakes are shared

Coleman shared how NASA’s culture has shaped her views and how she approaches complex challenges at work. Owning up to one’s mistakes and sharing were important parts of Coleman’s growth journey at NASA.

It can undeniably hard to admit a mistake, but it also adds a pivotal value in overall work culture – she said, share your mistakes so all can learn from them.

This could bring an enormous amount of possible solutions, shared lessons and a sense of community that, we are in it together. It gives a sense of assurance that it is absolutely humane to go wrong sometimes; making mistakes and sharing them are critical components of a growth curve.

Create diverse cultural teams at the workplace

Coleman talked about cross-cultural team dynamics and the challenges she faced working with a diverse and international crew. She acknowledged that, although it was challenging but it was also a humbling experience to fully understand that we all bring different skill sets to the table. The main purpose was to be trained for the big mission and be fully equipped to tackle uncertainties.

This is how all organisations, big or small, should work together and create a diverse set of teams.

The unique perspective of interconnectedness through the lens of an astronaut, who was literally watching the earth, from space, affirms we are more alike than different and that we can work around differences if we continue to innovate and create.

The multi-cultural teams create an air of trust and space for innovation which goes a long way and to be a good business leader is to have a spaceship view, while also being immersed in day to day operations of your earth (business).

To learn more about how to scale your small business a up, lead high-performing and engaged workforce, manage operations and finances efficiently as a SME leader, join our next cohort: Help to Grow: Management Course | Kingston University (kingstonuniversitybusinesstraining.com)

 

 

“Both/and Thinking – Using innovative thinking to solve toughest business problems

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Being a business leader, imagine you’re faced with a tough decision at work and you need your innovative thinking hats on. Should you focus on short-term profits or long-term growth? Traditionally, you might feel pressured to choose one over the other. But what if there was a way to do both?

In a recent podcast on Harvard Business Review, the co-authors of book Both/And Thinking: Embracing Creative Tensions to Solve Your Toughest Problems, Wendy Smith and Marianne Lewis discussed how a shift in thinking can solve complex problems.

They said, entering “both/and thinking,” is a refreshing approach to problem-solving. It’s like being asked to choose between chocolate and vanilla ice cream, and realising you can have a swirl of both.

This method isn’t about compromise or finding a middle ground. Instead, it’s about embracing the tension between opposing ideas and using that creative friction to spark innovative solutions. It’s like being a tightrope walker, constantly adjusting to maintain balance while moving forward.

Think about the challenges of hybrid work. Instead of fixating on finding the perfect mix of office and remote days, both/and thinking encourages us to dig deeper. What do we value most about each environment? How can we blend these elements to create something even better?

They further discussed, both/and thinking approach isn’t just for boardrooms. It can transform how we handle personal dilemmas too. Wendy shares how it’s improved her parenting discussions with her husband. Instead of butting heads over different approaches, they’ve learned to pause, listen, and combine their perspectives for more creative solutions.

Leaders like Paul Polman at Unilever have used both/and thinking to great effect. He’d challenge his team to find more tension in their proposals, believing that discomfort often leads to breakthrough ideas. It’s like purposely adding a dash of spice to a recipe to elevate the flavour.

Other leaders get creative with metaphors to explain the concept. Terri Kelly at WL Gore compared balancing global and local needs to breathing – you need both inhaling and exhaling to survive. Zita Cobb on Fogo Island used a cauliflower to illustrate how local communities can maintain their uniqueness while still being connected to the global stem.

Now, both/and thinking isn’t a magic wand. It requires practice and can feel uncomfortable at first. It’s not about finding perfect “win-win” solutions every time. More often, it’s a constant dance of balancing different viewpoints.

But by embracing this approach, we open ourselves up to a world of possibilities we might have otherwise missed. It’s about seeing the forest and the trees, having your cake and eating it too. In a world that often pushes us to choose sides, both/and thinking reminds us that sometimes, the best path forward is the one that brings opposing ideas together.

Learn more about Innovative thinking and strategies in the first module of Help to Grow Management Programme at Kingston University. www.kingstonuniversitybusinesstraining.com

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How not to be replaced by Artificial Intelligence (AI)?

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Recently I received a text on my WhatsApp which made me laugh. It was to suggest AI do our laundry instead of taking care of our thinking and creative work. Jokes apart, it is one of the most valid fears in the current technological climate for far too many people and all businesses regardless of their size. A fear of being replaced by AI.

But despite it being the most common fear felt by various sectors including the creative taskforces such as writers, thinkers, product designers etc, some AI leaders and behaviour scientists don’t seem too worried. They insist some aspects AI can’t take away from humankind and one of them is human creativity.

In one of the podcasts published by Harvard Business Review, hosted by Alison Beard with the authors of Tomorrowland, they argued that the human mind is incredibly complex and has an ability to be uniquely creative which cannot possibly be ever replaced by Artificial Intelligence.  Gabriella Rosen Kellerman, who is a physicist and chief product innovation officer and Martin Seligman, a psychologist, and author of several books, discussed four ways an individual or an organisation can cultivate creativity in day-to-day life.

Integrative Approach

One of the most popular moves people make when they look for creative solutions to a known or unknown problem by thinking of the integration of seemingly different things in one box. The idea is that things that don’t look similar might be the same. One of the prime examples is a smartphone, which combines a phone on the wall and, a camera that requires film and a record player all in a single device. This was unimaginable forty-something years ago.

Splitting Approach

It is the reverse of integrative, which is, that the things that look the same, may not necessarily be the same. One of the uses of this kind of creative approach can be seen in medicinal science. For instance, symptoms of smallpox can look the same but can cause both mild and deadly reactions depending on the causes. So their treatment will not be the same.

Figure Ground Reverse Approach

Figure Ground reversal is a remarkable approach. It is when certain solutions are invented by doing something unrelated. They helped shape some products such as GPS which was not meant to be GPS or SLACK which was supposed to be a video game for internal communication. This way of looking out for creative solutions comes from triggering a brain circuit that lights up when you are not looking for a solution but it is the same brain circuit that lights up when we are focused.

Distal Thinking Approach

This one requires time traveling in the future while keeping the feet in the present. Using divergent thinking to explore many possible solutions without the constraints of time, space, and any other limiting elements. Tesla’s self-driving cars are one of the examples of Distal thinking.

You can listen more why Artificial Intelligence is not a threat for creative thinkers or SMEs here: A Deeper Understanding of Creativity at Work (hbr.org)

Disruptive Innovation: Yay or Nay?

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In today’s fast-paced business world, the mantra for small and medium-sized enterprises and businesses (SMBs and SMEs) is clear: disrupt or be disrupted. But what exactly is disruptive innovation, and why does it matter so much?

Coined by Clayton Christensen in “The Innovator’s Dilemma,” disruptive innovation refers to a process where a smaller company with fewer resources successfully challenges established businesses. These innovations often start in low-end or new market footholds, initially underperforming established products in mainstream markets. However, they gain traction by offering more suitable functionality—often at a lower price—and eventually move upmarket to challenge industry leaders.

To understand disruptive innovation, it’s helpful to contrast it with sustaining innovation. While sustaining innovation improves existing products for current customers, disruptive innovation targets overlooked segments, often with lower initial quality but at a lower price point. It introduces new business models and carries higher risk, but with the potential for industry-wide change.

Some of the real-world examples abound; Netflix disrupted traditional video rental with its DVD-by-mail service and later streaming, transforming entertainment consumption. Airbnb created a new market for private accommodations, challenging the hotel industry. Tesla’s electric vehicles and direct-to-consumer model accelerated the shift to sustainable transportation. Uber’s ride-hailing app revolutionized urban transportation, disrupting the taxi industry.

So, how can SMEs foster disruptive innovation? Here are key strategies:

  1. Create a culture of experimentation, encouraging risk-taking and learning from failures.
  2. Focus on unmet customer needs through extensive market research and design thinking.
  3. Invest in emerging technologies and consider partnering with or acquiring promising startups.
  4. Prioritise long-term success over short-term profits; means sustainable business model and practices.
  5. Embrace open innovation by collaborating with external partners and diverse perspectives.

Innovation experts emphasise the importance of this approach. Clayton Christensen warns, “Disruptive innovation can hurt if you’re not the one doing the disrupting.” Steve Jobs asserted, “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” Jeff Bezos advocates for customer focus, allowing for more pioneering work. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings notes, “Companies rarely die from moving too fast, and they frequently die from moving too slowly.” Ignoring disruptive trends can result in loss of market share, obsolescence of core products, and declining revenue and profitability.

For those wanting to dive deeper, recommended reads include “The Innovator’s Dilemma” by Clayton Christensen, “Zero to One” by Peter Thiel, and “The Lean Startup” by Eric Ries.

It’s important for us to realise that the change is constant and disruptive innovation isn’t just a buzzword—it’s a survival strategy. By understanding and embracing it, small and medium sized business leaders can stay ahead of the curve, create new markets, and drive meaningful progress. The choice is clear: disrupt or be disrupted. Do you agree?

 

Leading with Purpose and Authenticity

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Mastering your capacity to be the best business leader comes along with finding your purpose, being your authentic self, and most importantly, not worrying about what others think.

But living in a world where performance and competition are rewarded from a very tender age, it becomes increasingly challenging not to get affected by the opinions of others. So, when your concept of self is inherently built on the preoccupation of what others think of you, often individuals, who are leading a workforce of hundreds and thousands, get on an inauthentic, mediocre, and joyless road; a path that only takes one to ineffective leadership.

So, how do high-performance coaches help their clients achieve what otherwise seems incessantly difficult and how do Fortune 500 companies still thrive in high-stakes environments? Mindset-training.

In his book, Finding Mastery, Michael Gervais talks broadly about why training our minds is the most important step in designing, building and strengthening a self-concept that we think truly matters to us. Not to others, but to us.

He explains, that our mind is our constant companion, accompanying us wherever we go – to the pitching deck or the boardroom. It serves as the unifying thread, weaving together our feelings, thoughts, and ability to concentrate on the tasks at hand. Whether grappling with emotions due to losing clients or tackling an internal company conflict, our mind is the ever-present tool that guides us through. Here is how you can also train your mind to master any area of your life or your business. The three things it comes down to are,

Identifying the principles that matter most to you in your life. Be radically committed to it. Once you know what those are, hydrate them and keep them alive in your action.

Mental Training: The greatest trick you could play on your mind is to tell it what you want it to hear. Imagine it for it to manifest.

Deep focusing is what many neuroscientists and Yoga practitioners recommend, but it is another way of refocusing. Keep coming back to what your purpose is and bring the focus back to it. Every time you get side-tracked by life’s or business challenges, deep focus and realign your mindset and actions with core principles.

In the end, mastering leadership comes to tune into your signals and strategically refusing to entertain noise by others.

We explore more about leadership and Innovation in Help to Grow Management:

Help to Grow: Management Course | Kingston University (kingstonuniversitybusinesstraining.com)

Start-up to Scale-up – Business world

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You may have successfully established a start-up but now awaits for you an entirely different ballgame which you wouldn’t be able to win if you don’t know how to retain the main ingredients that initially helped your business started in the first place.

Let’s explore.

Ranjay Gulati, a Harvard Business School Professor calls it ‘a soul’. His recent research explored what mature companies would require to retain as they continue to grow intro larger and long-lasting organisations.

He says that all successful organisations have one thing in common: a soul. Their businesses have an essence which distinguishes them from others and oozes an energy with which a business attracts long-term growth and success. He warns that three components that compose a soul of any business, if not retained, can jolt the foundations of a company.

Those three elements are, business intent, customer connection and employee experience. By strategic business intent, he means to say, it is something intangible in start-ups whose presence company founders sense it. This ‘something essential’ translates into their offerings; service or products, which is eventually felt by employees, customers, and stakeholders they work closely with. This energetic enthusiasm which is felt at the beginning helps companies continue to inspire others. If the spirit is there, organisations can leverage engagement, remain agile and innovative. In the absence of a soul, everyone feels the loss.

Ranjay Gulati extensive research on more than dozen fast-growth venture and over 200 interviews with their founders and executives pointed out towards the second element of the soul, ‘Customer Connection’. He observed all successful companies shared a close bond with their customers. One of the company’s founders were so passionate about their brand, they even got a tattoo on their feet or legs. The idea behind customer connection is to intimately understand the needs of the people company’s offerings are targeted for and create a sense of belonging – what they feel and need, then offer them solutions to make their lives easier, better, recognisable.

The third element of a business’ soul is employee experience. This goes far and wide. Companies that create a space for autonomy and creativity fosters greater engagement and faster growth. First establishing the business intent, companies then create a space for employees to innovate within frameworks and guidelines.

To learn more about the Strategic innovation and organisational design: www.kingstonuniversitybusinesstraining.com

 

Winning New Markets

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Winning new markets is all about innovative and strategic thinking. It’s obvious to look at what your competitors are doing, but do you also know what your business’ substitutes sectors are? You understand who you are selling to, but have you also explored across the chain of buyers?

Back in 2011, UK’ biggest book retailer was struggling to keep its head up, drowning in the sea of defeated sales and entering the blackhole of bankruptcy, until something happened.

James Daunt, an investment banking professional, owner of Daunt books then took charge of the book retailer chain and rewrote the story of Waterstones’ success.

What did he do to combat bankruptcy and how did he do it?

Along with several changes as small as the presentation of a bookshelf and as big and complex as rethinking the business model and cutting head office cost; Waterstones was competing with the then-emerging phenomena of eBooks readership. As the eBook sales were soaring, the physical books sales were dropping. It is then Daunt identified an untapped market which was looking across complimentary products and services.

This untapped market was comprised of cafegoers and coffee-drinkers.

So, Daunt focused on opening their own independent-looking cafés and kissed-goodbye to costa. This alone has attracted a big and consistent influx of people into their bookstores and saved Waterstones from the brink of bankruptcy. In the last decade, Waterstones has expanded to over 300 bookstores and hundreds of its own cafes. This has been an important yet un-highlighted strategic offerings of food and beverages of Waterstones.

There were questions which required innovative solutions.

How can we bring a potential buyer inside the bookshop who wouldn’t normally go? Rethinking ways to get to customers.

Who is our customer? Reimagining the potential target market.

And,

How can we add value to existing visitors who are buying our books but due to an added value, they would be willing to spend more, buy more, connect more? Looking across the emotional appeal to buyers.

The famous high street book retailer has also opened several independent bookshops without using its branding to expand its target market from book-buyers to small and independent bookshop supportive buyers. It has expanded dramatically and has also gone international.

So now the questions for you being an SME leader,

Where is your business standing?

Have you explored creating a new market for your business?

Learn more about internationalisation and winning new markets in our Module 3.

(kingstonuniversitybusinesstraining.com)

Good Friction vs Bad Friction

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Friction.

The very sound of it says stop, re-evaluate, reimagine.

Like Yin and Yang, opposite but inter-connected forces, friction can disrupt and change the direction of a workflow, business-relationships, and balance sheets. Strong leaderships know how to spot it, when to use it and which one to use. But despite all the intended goodwill and a claimed good strategy, business leaders often overlook it and misuse it.

So, what really is a good friction?

How can you spot it?

How can you introduce it?

And last but importantly,

How can you use it to fix the potholes of low performance, disengaged teams or a bad sales month for instance?

Good friction is a deliberate intervention means to help your taskforces, your clients and your stakeholders move towards a happier work culture and stronger businesses. As soon you identify the gaps and disengagements in processes, you gently but firmly create a friction and make a space for changed systems to come alive. This might bring discomfort at first, but once you hit at the right spot, it creates ripples affect. For example, if delays are seen in a project delivery due to lengthy chain of bureaucracy.  Why don’t you enable easy, quick and autonomous pathway of decision making to have engaged, confident and happier workforce?

Think about the problem and ask yourself how I can help.

Now bad business leaders, use friction to exercise their authority, mask their incompetence or use it as a coping mechanism to hide from their own burning out and workload. Instead of incorporating agile processes, they use complex ones; instead of enabling an agency of working well and feeling good to have well-built clientele and a sturdy business, they insist on deploying rigid and tiresome processes.

Choose your friction wisely and choose it empathetically.