How to work backwards to find business solutions

As a business leader you often have to be willing to make the investment of your time and energy that’s required to streamline your business. Finding opportunities to become more efficient is often worth the effort. Imagine that you are taking a microscopic view of your business. You may be surprised how complicated things can get down there. There are also times that if we could look in the rear view mirror and have the benefit of hindsight then things would be done differently. Now take the example of driving in reverse just a few metres. You are far more focused and attentive. If you want to solve problems and enjoy the benefits of smooth, reliable systems that will free you up to work on other areas of your business, try some 'reverse engineering' in your business.

The Working Backwards Process

• identify the problem you are trying to solve and the time since that the problem started and pinpoint when it will be likely to be solved

• work back through the reasons of what caused the problem to the sources that are behind it

• retrace the history that has brought about this situation

• sketch out how you think a solution for the future might work

Try starting with the customer and work backwards. When you work backwards, you start with the customer and their needs and problems. This is the opposite of what some businesses do. For example, they think up ideas, build a product, and then see if customers like it. The Business Minder is a firm believer that what is best for the customer ultimately turns out to be best for the business. If you can arrange things in such a way that your interests are aligned with your customers, then in the long term that will work out really well for customers and it will work out really well for you.

Now try working backwards on your revenue goals. Do you need to make a million in revenue this year? Then you’ve got to make 84,000 a month. What are you doing to reach that number? What is your pricing on your products and services in order to reach that goal?

Now try it on your market research. You have conducted surveys and you have the results. What are you going to do with that information? How will you analyse the data to understand your customers and ultimately drive growth in your business? You should start at the end and work backwards from there. What kind of analysis do you need to make decisions and take actions? What information do you need to develop a strategy to increase customer satisfaction? To create a good survey try working backwards. Starting with a good understanding of what you need to do, the question you need to answer, then thinking about the insights you’ll need to answer that question, and finally, creating a survey that will drive those results.

The Working Backwards Strategy

The Working Backwards strategy may be appropriate when

• the end result is clear to you but the initial part of the problem is obscure

• the problem starts off as being complex and becomes simple at the end

• the problem involves a complicated equation

• the problem involves a sequence of reversible actions

If it’s client follow up, market research, service delivery or winning new customers, reverse engineering may help you identify parts of your business model that are ripe for streamlining. When working on a plan or strategy for your business you need to think about how to make it possible or what you really need to do to reach a particular goal. You can’t just say it and create some illusion that’s just not possible to achieve. By reverse engineering you may find the goal to be too disruptive to you and your business. It maybe not possible at this time. Goals aren’t linear. They’re a destination. Sometimes, you have to take another route. If one road is closed, you don’t just go home. You try some other way. Reconsider and reset the goal. Work backwards again until you find a workable, realistic goal. You can then consider stretching the goal just a little for added incentive to make it all happen. 100 steps backward are as good as 1,000 steps forward!

From time to time when I get stuck on an article, I will flip around the order of the argument, beginning with the conclusion and ending with the introduction. It's an effective way to review what I’m trying to say. By working backwards you can figure out what your end goal is and then establish the systems that will get you where you want your business to be. If you imagine a happy customer as your goal, consider the steps that need to occur to make that happen. The Business Minder is a business solutions consultant and analyst operating in ASEAN countries with clients in Singapore, Malaysia and Bali Indonesia.