In Crisis, there are Solutions. Find ways to 'adjust organizations through crises' so that every organization can survive.

As the COVID-19 crisis continues, there's probably no mantra that everyone, every organization, and every business can rely on as a source of encouragement as "In every crisis, there's always an opportunity." This concept has been proven by many businesses to be a surefire way to overcome this pandemic, which has caused many businesses to halt or even stagger. TKK Corporation Co., Ltd., a distributor of products for factory automation control systems, is one of the many organizations that have used this mantra to overcome every obstacle. To this day, they remain resilient despite the crisis, with only a slight decrease in sales. What is the secret to the company's success in 'reshaping the organization through this crisis'?

The person who will provide the best answer is Kalyanee Kongsomjit, Chairman of TKK Corporation Co., Ltd., who gave an interview about the organization's adherence and practices throughout the past crisis. We have compiled this article so that everyone can learn together.

Executives' "Let it go!" skills must be used promptly to 'adjust organizations through crises'

If we inherit something from our parents, whether it's real estate or any other property, these are material wealth. But if we're called "noble wealth," it means wealth that the more you give, the more it grows. The more you give, the more you have, leading to further development. These are often abstract things like love, education, and a good attitude. These are actually very valuable things, just like having a good family, which is a form of family value.

Similarly, in reshaping an organization through a crisis, we must identify its "noble assets," which are the strengths it must possess to navigate the crisis. Another key element is identifying what will help propel the organization forward and elevate it to greater challenges.

Of course, the answer we're looking for doesn't lie in having a large office building with a large workforce. Past crises have shown us that these factors accumulate over time, and when a crisis strikes, they don't help organizations survive.

But what every organization and every leader needs to focus on is the true strength of the organization that allows it to survive amidst the current crisis. This “coolness” is what we need to find.

The most dangerous point that can lead to lost progress is clinging to what appears to be a strength, but in reality, it's not. Sometimes, it's even a weakness. Many people cling to it. For example, a prime location for an office building leaves us burdened with debt. We do everything we can to secure this land and keep it with us indefinitely. The real situation that needs urgent attention is that sales are declining due to the crisis, and the income needed to pay employees' salaries is greater.

The next challenge that all executives must overcome is, once we see that the crisis is looming, can we “let it go” of these material assets? If the answer is no, does that mean we will hold onto them, with the only reason being to preserve them as a legacy for our children?

Wouldn't it be better to think the other way around and consider what the organization's true core competency, expertise, and capabilities truly are? I'm absolutely certain it's not about speculating on land prices, but rather about finding the answer to the question of how to ensure our business can truly survive sustainably and grow?

Because as long as the organization's leaders cannot find the answers to all of these questions, it means that the organization will continue to be lost in a cycle of intertwined problems.

Rethink, re-do with appropriate management, ready to lead the organization through the crisis.

The next point I'd like to discuss is "people" management. Many organizations tend to believe that having a large number of talented people with the organization for a long time is beneficial for the organization. However, I must say that from my own experience managing TKK Corporation, I know that having a small number of employees doesn't necessarily mean that the organization's performance is poor.

Since the beginning of 2020, when we had approximately 104 employees, we've now grown to 84. And when someone resigned, the company hasn't hired any more. Now, we can confidently say that we're surviving, as evidenced by our sales figures, which haven't significantly decreased. This year, however, we've been able to reduce expenses by 20 million baht.

A factor contributing to the organization's reduced expenses is the company's focus on examining and managing its own organization. This has led to the discovery that expenses, such as sales vehicle fuel, can be reduced by managing sales travel patterns. This includes training salespeople to plan customer visits by prioritizing their journeys along clear routes, resulting in significant savings on fuel costs.

While adapting work processes to be more systematic, orderly, and step-by-step can also help organizations save costs, since TKK has been able to do this, we want to share this method with all organizations. The sooner we start implementing and making changes, the sooner we can achieve positive results.

Next is the matter of the company's inventory management, which has greatly improved. Last year's sales were approximately 800 million baht, and this year we have inventory worth nearly 30-40 million baht. This change in inventory management has resulted in our sales not falling.

Another factor that has helped us achieve good stock management is our conversations with overseas partners and asking them to provide storage space for our products. This has significantly reduced our costs, space management, and inventory management.

Find your own business expertise and expand your collaboration, turning competitors into business partners, and walk towards success together.

In the past, there have been many organizations or companies that, when a large order came in, the first thing they did was buy machinery to expand production capacity. But during a crisis, work dwindled, the purchased machinery went unused, and workers became idle.

If you don't want this dire situation to happen to your organization, executives should identify your business's strengths and expertise. For example, if you claim your company excels in OEM or contract manufacturing, acknowledge that every time someone hires you to produce for them, it's not your own brand. And when you get an additional order, you buy more machinery, which just adds to your debt. Is this the right approach?

Compared to changing to outsourcing or sending some work to another company for production, would it be better? Because if it can be done, it would be a way to avoid increasing the risk by purchasing new machinery as mentioned above.

Meanwhile, the concept of “sharing resources” seems to be the most appropriate approach for business in this era.

This crisis has removed the value of "competitors," which were previously companies or organizations in the same business as us, competing for sales. Instead, we've shifted our focus to "competitors," which could be the COVID-19 virus that's currently disrupting our business.

So, at this time, everyone, every business, has changed their status to be our “business partner” or “partner”.

Executives today should therefore think differently, thinking that competitors are people who do the same business as us and share everything in common with us. If this is the case, why not take this opportunity to transform your competitors into true friends? Can we collaborate and do business in a mutually beneficial manner, sharing resources in parallel?

Because the new framework for success created by the COVID crisis is that those who have more shared resources are more likely to reduce production costs.

And it's this kind of organization that will be known for its high "endurance." We must find out what the elements that create this endurance are that will enable us to survive and overcome this crisis.

Listen to the answer and apply the kind of resilience that businesses in the COVID era deserve.

The first factor that will build resilience worthy of an organization in this COVID era is planning to use as little cash as possible each month to ensure sufficient revenue to sustain and sustain the business throughout the crisis. If possible, avoid layoffs and instead maintain business continuity during this time. This is the best solution.

Personally, I believe that once the crisis reaches its lowest point, the situation will soon recover. If we can patiently wait until then, everyone and every business will be able to revive.

This crisis is a good teacher because it teaches all organizational leaders and executives to reassess the situation and review their business operations to determine how much they are burdened with.

If you see yourself as having two rocks weighing you down, your business, like a diving dive, will likely be unable to continue. But if you can remove these two rocks, you will certainly feel lighter. Every organization can do this through the principles of Lean Management.

Lean Management can be compared to a powerful antibody or immunity that builds organizational resilience, enabling every business to successfully adapt and overcome crises.

Furthermore, every organization should establish risk management guidelines to close the door on risks and ultimately help businesses overcome this crisis.

From my experience, I'd like to communicate to all leaders and executives that even though the crisis hasn't arrived yet, when we look towards the horizon, which is as far as the eye can see, we see dark clouds already creeping in. Therefore, we cannot remain idle. We must remain alert at all times. We must arm ourselves with a full range of intellectual tools and be ready to adapt them in a timely manner.

This crisis has taught everyone that anything can happen at any time. From now on, whether a second or third wave of the crisis occurs, it won't affect us if we're ready to change, not stick to the old business manual, and are ready to make our organization lean or as light as possible. In other words, if it's a weight loss method, it's the weight loss that produces results in the fastest time.

Of course, this type of change or adjustment is abrupt for many organizations, creating suffering for everyone, from executives to employees. But trust me, it's only a temporary phase. If you can survive this period, you'll realize it's not difficult, and it can even help you escape the trap that's holding your organization back.

During this crisis, executives are the ones who determine whether a company or organization will survive. If the company encounters difficulties, we cannot blame the employees. The top executives should be blamed for their vision in leading the organization through the crisis, whether they dare to take risks and change to lead the organization to survival.

However, with the many changes that have occurred during the recent crisis, it is believed that many organizations are faced with two main types of employees: those who are told to adjust their work and obey and follow through, and those who listen to the changes but do not adapt.

At TKK Corporation, we face a similar situation, where the ratio of employees who are ready to change in the first category to those who are not is 80:20. The next question is, what do we do with the minority of employees who are not changing? From my own experience, the first thing that is essential is proper communication, because we certainly don't want this minority to dominate the thinking of the majority of employees.

The communication technique is to clearly communicate that the company is not looking to find fault with your work, but rather to offer a proposal in the form of a process and procedures that the company would like to discuss. What we did was to bring in employees who seem to be the main proponents of resistance to this change to be part of the pioneering team for the new working model.

We define this as a "revolution," but rather a "reform." This reform will not happen overnight, so it must be planned and implemented, with an effort to involve all employees in voting and deciding which changes they will accept.

Although executives are responsible for leading the organization through the crisis, decisions will be made along the way. Executives should delegate these decision-making responsibilities to various teams to gather feedback.

Because this "COVID crisis" has taught us to think in a new way. We must survive as a group. If we're going to die, we must die as a group. And to survive as a group, we must plan and work together as a team. We can't work alone.

Another lesson learned from the COVID-19 crisis is that organizations must have high flexibility to survive. If you were to compare it to a rubber band, it would have to be a very high-quality elastic that can be pulled and bounced back and forth quickly.