Award winning Management Consultant and Product Development Expert, Emmanuel Smart stated that there’s no better time for businesses to focus on making what customers want than the current global economic condition. He noted that the current global economic condition is an opportunity disguised as a major challenge and periods such as this separate customer centric companies from companies that are profit and ego driven.

Emmanuel Smart who is the author of the bestselling book, “Make What Customers Want” further noted that during market bulls, unauthentic companies that do not create customer centric products and services find a way to survive but they struggle when economic growth declines.

He listed four key steps that forward thinking companies must take if they want to thrive in the current global economic condition. He noted that firstly, companies must be specific, disciplined and focused on their meaning goal which every member of staff must understand to the tiniest detail and believe in. The goal must be customer centric. He pointed out that secondly, companies must design their organization to politely let go of the unaligned and unsuitable members of the team while doing everything to retain the aligned and suitable members of the team.

In his words “the best way to know an aligned and suitable team member is to watch their actions not their words. There must be evidence that their actions are focused on making the customer happy”. He explained that letting the unaligned and unsuitable team members go; gives the unaligned team members room to find their place of full expression and the company will also have the rare opportunity to work with only the right team.

Emmanuel Smart also noted that thirdly, companies need to review all their projects, products, expenses, revenue and figure out which ones fit into their overall meaningful goal and which ones are a waste of time and resources. Every project that isn’t customer centric must go. He noted that there’s no sense in stopping revenue streams that are currently working because monies from those sources can be used to circumspectly finance the fourth key step on his list – new ideas.

The brand growth and product development expert whose success in the FMCG space has been described by respected market leaders as awe-inspiring noted that business leaders must realize that today is not forever and whatever is working today can become obsolete tomorrow, therefore, it is important that new ideas are birthed. He described customers, employees, investors and other stakeholders as a fertile ground for new ideas and projects. He noted that the best ideas are mostly not birthed or discovered in the board room but in simple conversations with stakeholders. These ideas are then improved on and shaped in ideation rooms and strategy sessions.

According to Emmanuel Smart, he believes tough times can be a disguised opportunity for the new kings and queens of the business world to emerge if they will courageously follow the four steps he listed.