Being an Agile Company

The fact that major businesses outside of the construction industry are eying opportunities within the sector should both excite and alarm established players.

Excite, because if insurance or manufacturing companies or businesses like Amazon are considering diversifying into construction there are clearly profitable opportunities. Alarm, because new entrants will not be looking to compete on our terms or to take what we do and do it a bit better.

Disruption is the big threat. New entrants will have different strengths from established construction firms. They will be better than we currently are at analysing vast amounts of data to understand end user needs. They may have capabilities in automation, logistics, customer service, lean manufacturing and a host of other things. They will also be looking for long term revenue streams from add on services more than one off project fees.

The biggest difference is that the new competition will be accustomed to working in dynamic business environments with high customer expectations. Business agility is something they already do they do rather than something they need to learn.

Expertise + Agility = Success

Experience, knowledge and having an established reputation within a specific sector are clearly significant assets. But they are no guarantee, as Kodak, PanAm, Compaq, Woolworths and countless other ‘solid’ brands will testify.

By becoming more agile the industry can enhance existing strengths and market position and deliver better outcomes and value.
Being agile means:
● A management mindset that can evaluate situations and make quick decisions.
● An organization configured to respond to opportunities as they are identified.
● Leaders who can mobilize and motivate their teams act quickly and innovate.
● Being driven by what customers need rather than what we feel comfortable doing.
● Being open minded and outward looking.

The marketplace is already a dynamic, ever changing machine. The pace of change will increase exponentially and this can only be fuelled by non-traditional entrants.
Only those businesses who can respond quickly to change and opportunity can hope to come out on top.