Businesses will need to:

• Accept that understanding and exploiting what works can produce better results than concentrating on what hasn’t worked and needs changing.

• Really understand the link between the strategies, processes and practices that work and business success; and then make more use of them.
• Acknowledge that people’s real strengths are what they themselves feel makes them strong and not what others think, as is more traditional.
• Cut back on anything that is an evident drain on time, money and effort, so you can do more of what works.
• Be prepared to question ‘sacred cows’ e.g.

Does management training really work, or would training people in personal leadership enable them to manage their bosses successfully?

Does the performance appraisal system get at the heart of people’s real success, or does it dwell on their shortcomings?

Do competency frameworks allow for natural talents, or do they oblige people to clone their strengths into a system?

The solution lies in the beliefs of your senior management team towards the business’s potential. If their state of mind, intent, focus and objectives, become strengths driven, then anything can become possible.