“There was
a phase in my young life as a photographer when I would shoot every object that
comes into view. It was good
practice, invaluable training, even.
Now that I have grown comfortable with my camera system, know
more or less how to play with light, I try to push myself beyond every comfort
zone I find myself in.
It was therefore quite a treat to put together
a bland looking window on a fire
exit door with a gorgeous woman”
This was narrated by a friend of mine - an ideal example of exit
strategy.
You got to figure out when to exit…move out from your comfort zone…take
new challenges…in order to grow…in order to excel. Exit strategy is needed in
everything you make an entry into, if you don’t, that’s the time you feel stuck.
This post will talk about why exit strategy is a must for the below:
Partnership Alliances:
You can never win in today’s industry by
being an individual player, strategy alliance with other business gives you an
edge to fulfill customer needs and excel. Every partnership that I sing off
brings in lots of excitement along with commitments. We sign off Win-Win partnership
deal, decide on Go to Market plan, but never plan on defining the exit
strategy.
What if the market does not respond positively
to the partnership?
What if only one partner succeeds out of
the deal?
What if the market circumstances change and
the partnership backfires?
To proactively act in the above
situation its important while designing an
alliance best moment is to talk about the exit strategy.
Product:
When thinking of the end of a
product’s life, think of the principles of product life cycle management and
the four phases of a product’s life cycle. There’s the introduction phase, the
growth phase, a peak phase, followed by a gradual decline phase.
An exit
strategy for a given product line typically involves outlining the company’s
steps to reducing its exposure. Using customer reward programs, prompt
payment incentives and offering volume discounts, are just some of the ways to
retain business. The intention here is to maximize the product’s gross profit
during its final life-cycle. In telecom I see a new product killing another existing
new product launched from the same brand.
It’s important to predict eventual
decline in customer demand, accordingly reduce the products marketing
expenditures, reduce inventory and move the product line to“made-to-order” status. Support & Maintenance for the existing customers
using the product is primary in exit strategy. Either move them to the new
product or set a deadline for the end of support dates. Oracle products are the
best example for the same.
Relationship:
I know it’s debatable, why
would one need an exit strategy for a relationship? Who wants to step out it?
Why work on it?
But look at it in 2 angles:
Exit strategy for being friends
to moving on to be in a love relationship. Exiting from being just lovers to a married
couple. Exiting from just being a couple to a family etc. Figure out when to
exit from one kind of relationship to another.
Other angle is when you realize
your integrity is no more secure. During getting marriage discuss the divorce
scenario when heavily in love, it is the best time. The moment the love is over
and all what is left is disagreement and difficulties, it will be much harder
to find a common ground based whereupon both partners can exit gracefully. Having
a plan ready in advance will save emotional energy when you're feeling sapped
from fighting.
Unexpected swings in the relationship can create distress
and drama. If you have a relationship that you value, sit down with the person while
things are going well and create an agreement on how you would handle your
worst case scenario. What would you like to see happen, from a calm rational
place, before you end the relationship. An exit agreement can clear a lot of
bandwidth we can use for other fun activities, and let us enjoy the moment in
the relationship now!
Start-up:
Your new venture is off and running. You and your partner
are in sync with your goals for the future. As hard as it is to imagine
the ending when you’re just beginning, an exit strategy belongs in your business
plan, it can actually help you improve your
business, making you look at cracks in the foundation of your company that need
reinforcing and new methods to help you push your business even further in the
right direction.
Plan for what happens if one of them dies.
Define what happens when one
partner is ready to walk away.
Worst scenarios for dissolving a business partnership is
when the partners are locked in a dispute and the only solution is splitting.
This is a time when emotions can run very high and having the terms of the
dissolution already in place limits additional conflict.
So what happens to the partners when your small business
becomes bigger either by merger or by sale?
What if somewhere down the road one of the partners is
ready to take it all on alone and wants to buy out the shares of the other? A
carefully crafted plan will lead to a smooth financial transaction. Having a clearly defined exit strategy does more than
just establish the rules for different end-of-partnership scenarios.
Job:
I am guessing that at the beginning of your career or
even at the end of your corporate one, you did not have any idea that you would
end up doing this for a living. I used to have a mental box of where my career
could “logically” proceed, until I realized that I love learning new things,
working on challenging stuff.
So my advice to you if you do not know what you want to
do…Congratulations! It is perfectly normal. I promise you few really know their
life’s purpose early on. It is a work in progress and that’s what makes life so
beautiful. Second, be patient and have fun and explore. Try new things, learn
constantly and allow yourself to imagine, to brainstorm, to come up with ideas
and to put a few to test. Also, pay attention to your strength. That’s
something that you do well consistently and feel energized and happy about.
We have got to be open to the possibilities and the
opportunities that come along or else we will miss out on great chances to reach
our fullest potential. I always wanted to make my professional smooth exit so I
took my time building what I believed was imperative to that: a smart exit
strategy at every job that was interesting, different & challenging.
Exit strategies aren't failure missions; they help to
reinforce what you are doing right and focus on what you can do better.
Passion: “People
call me crazy because I dance & keep singing every time anywhere…but I can’t
stop. Music is so much in me…the passion in me defines me…keeps me always happy
& going for new challenges.”
