'Trim and Fit' to be in business

Hilmy Cader

CEO of MTI Consulting Hilmy Cader delivering a keynote address at the Way Forward Forum organised by The Management Club and the Chartered Management Institute shared their learnings on how businesses can gear themselves to benefit from the expected economic upturn in Sri Lanka.

"Based on extensive research on how businesses can positively respond to the crisis, MTI has formulated a 'Trim and Fit' a performance-driven consulting solution to help companies prevail (not just survive) during the tough times and seize upside opportunities," he said, to begin organizations need to align the strategy to meet specific tough times conditions (specifically in terms of rationalising and de-slacking the business model), followed by taking the 'fat' off the processes, before developing a lean structure all of which is finally driven by ensuring staff are motivated (through win-win initiatives like Performance-based Pay).

Explaining two key features of the model, Cader - said, 'Trim and Fit' looks first at cost rationalizing based on vertical Costs (based on a value chain P&L) as opposed to conventional horizontal cost cutting, which runs the risks of cutting off the 'veins and arteries' of the business model! Most importantly, 'the head count is considered as a last resort (only after the slack in the Strategy, Processes and Jobs are taken out) and even if head count needs to be cut, retrenchment is the last option.'

One of the highlights of this approach is that businesses need to be trim and fit not just in tough times but also during the boom so as to prevent unchecked expansion.