How to keep moving on despite a tight budget

Danny Supriyadi, Senior Manager, Accenture, Jakarta

Hope 2003 has gotten off to a good start for you. And as far as money goes - we hearing the same tune: Tight, tight and tight.

This year, business leadership is about getting the job done with less resources. Let alone doing more with less, delivering the same results with less is enough of a challenge. How do we keep moving ahead and keep the morale up in such a situation? Some of these ideas may work well for you.

Paint the picture. Let everyone in the organization know that money is tight. Do not complain about, just report it. Just be factual about it, repeatedly. It will drive expectations and behaviors in line. For example, people may not expect a new computer this year. It would be great if you could come up with a new one, but if not, nobody is worse off.

Unify goals. Be it an organization or a nation, people stick together because they have done great things together and, more importantly, they want to do more great things in the future. Let people understand the goals and how we will achieve them. Share the gain, the way, and the pain.

Line up the leaders. Pick the key personnel to report directly to you. They are the drivers with the most impact on the business. A combination of veterans and new faces may be required to create a sense of urgency and drive the changes. Ensure the group shares a common goal, work on the priorities, and use one set of facts and conclusions. Leading by example is the best. Buying a Porsche, even out of one's own pocket, dilutes the sense of cost-cutting urgency.

Act on Priority. Drop non-core business operation budget items and initiatives. Then, review the rest rigorously. If we cannot smell success, let go. If we cannot let go, freeze it. If we cannot freeze it, find a way to succeed. Shift the people and money to the most important project. Track the funds and the progress closely.

Ask the King. Touch base with key customers. They will tell us if our tight money situation is taking a toll on our service level. Receive feedback graciously. Find some mutually beneficial solutions. Simple things like changing delivery size and time may lead to savings for both sides. Act promptly to apply the quick win valuable ideas.

Take care of your staff. Zero bonuses, less career opportunities, lay-offs and pay cuts are tough realities to digest. Ask the people how to make their working lives better in this situation. Relax any rules to make things easier for them without raising risks. Try to keep part of the work that gives people satisfaction. Look out for their interests. There are people with more interest in the business than their career.

Stay Cool. Everyone is stressed from the tight budget, less staff and ever increasing workloads. Conflict can blow up quickly. Step in when the cracks start to show. Never display fright or panic or a bad temper. Willingness to listen and practical optimism - always believe there must be a way to make things better -- these things help a lot.

Explore new methods. Keep a running list of possible ways to run the operation under the tight budget: Outsource IT or logistics, pay by successful projects, cooperate with other companies to share transportation costs, and work together with competitors to lower the purchasing price.

Keep the perspective. When resources are short, we need to pay more attention, not business as usual. We need to stay on top of everything. Beware of losing the big picture when the details pile up. Perhaps there is an opportunity to spend more money to buy the market domination.

Shoestring management is a necessity - never the preference. Toughness and perseverance must be the order of the day. If we feel like were going through hell now, keep going. A great year is waiting ahead.