TOBIAS​

​Tobias is a Northern Hairy-Nosed Wombat (or Lasiorhinus krefftii), a mammal native to Australia and an unfortunate example of the fragility of life. Although a cute little guy; regrettably Toby's future hangs tenuously in the balance, due to a threat he has not prepared well for - Man! Toby is now one of the world’s rarest and most endangered mammals; listed on the world Critically Endangered Species list (IUCN). There are many lists we would love to be on, but this list is not one of them. Being a member of this list means you, your family and your entire species barely number 100 (in the wild) and are fast approaching extinction and in desperate need of an effective game plan!

Business leaders today have an extremely difficult and challenging job not only leading and growing their businesses in an environment of increasing uncertainty, compliance and competition; but also avoiding a silent knock out punch (extinction or irrelevance). Things can move so fast, so detecting threats early (such as the iceberg well ahead) is vital to avoid it in time. Sam Walton (founder of Walmart) famously said 'the customer has the ability to sack everyone in the company simply by spending their money elsewhere". And they do, quickly! 

So many lives and livelihoods are dependent on the success of our businesses, and business leaders bear most of that burden - 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Those that have started and run their own business will understand this burden well, especially the silent weight of responsibility and expectation they take home on their shoulders each night (weekends included). Fortunately, with good strategic planning and design, this weight and the stress associated with it can be lifted somewhat. Investing in understanding your business and its strategic position, whether good or bad, fosters vigilance and confidence, providing the wisdom and foresight to make the right decisions, at the right time, with the right team and for the right reasons. Good strategic governance, assurance and analysis prepare you to better utilise your capabilities in the right way and respond effectively to changing needs.  

Tobias is lucky that he has a group of volunteers and experts who now care enough about him, his family and his survival to dedicate their lives and careers to improving his chances of survival. But in business, we should not hold out on being lucky. We need genuine experts around our management team and board as business partners.

At Fracchia Advisorywe are strategic business partners to many organisations, providing objective perspectives, advice and analysis to their boards and management teams. We sit at their table and work closely with them to ensure they see all of the risks as well as the possibilities about their strategic position. We ensure they have the best information, to create the best strategy, from which to make the best decisions at the best possible time:- and know why!

Extinction is something we rarely contemplate in life, let alone business, perhaps because its something that happens to other 'things', not us! Life and growth are far more exciting to contemplate. Extinction in business is also something we never contemplate and certainly never expect to happen to us, despite the reasonably high probability! Avoiding extinction requires resilience, improving our chances of survival by focusing as much on our vulnerabilities (or threats) as we do on our strengths (and opportunities). Investing in strategies to defend yourself against your vulnerabilities (defensive strategy) is as important as strategies to exploit your opportunities (offensive strategy). When we don’t pay attention to a balanced strategy we can easily be hit from behind and pay a heavy price. The economic wasteland is littered with businesses and entire industries now extinct as a result of failing to understand and adjust to their strategic landscape such as changing customer needs, maintaining obsolete services, increasing expectations etc. Having a clear vision for our business, understanding its strengths and weaknesses, and where it is positioned in the market; is critical to designing and implementing an effective and balanced strategy.