In the current environment of low spend our attitude needs to be, how can we do more with what we have? How can we maximise our business efficiency without increasing resource expenditure?

Despite low oil prices, depressed commodities and poor exchange rates, Rockwell Automation Sub-Saharan Africa – and indeed Rockwell Automation EMEA – achieved growth in the last financial year. This was mainly due to our consumer industries and strong growth in heavy industries based on large project successes. This growth exceeded my expectations.

The need now is to enhance the elements that contribute to our positive performance to allow us to continue to ride these turbulent currents.

Intrapreneurship – the collective wealth of ideas
We should always look at how we can do things better. Organisations get better by constantly analysing each process to see if it’s being done optimally. We need ‘good ideas’ that question the way things are done, and consider how they might be improved. Good ideas come from everywhere and everyone; not the sole jurisdiction of any executive body. Companies say their most important asset is their human resources. But how do we turn this theory into practice?

At Rockwell Automation Sub-Saharan Africa, I want to instil a culture of intrapreneurship, where each employee constantly acts in an entrepreneurial manner – all with a view to maximising the potential of our human and corporate resources.

As a paradigm, intrapreneurship attempts to empower each employee to make active contributions that enhance the efficiency of all our available resources, at all levels of the organisation. Why should the formulation of strategy be limited to a small nucleus of people? Why can’t we use the brains trust of the entire organisation to consider what can be done better in our company?

This needn’t be limited just to project execution; it might be a productivity saver that is aimed at, for instance, reducing our water consumption. Good ideas. Our Sub-Saharan Africa head office has just moved into a new, purpose-built facility that will see our Johannesburg staff under the same roof for the first time. I believe this space will play an important part in facilitating structures that achieve an organisation of intrapreneurs.

Pause and reflect – recognising success
An important part of building this ethos lies in recognition. We need to recognise our own achievements and the role that each and every employee plays in creating these successes.

Often when landing projects becomes a long, drawn-out processes, sometimes embroiled within webs of red tape, we become jaded. Happy to just see a resolution when it finally comes, we sometimes forget to reflect on the hard work that went into securing a successful bid. That’s unacceptable. We need to stop and reflect on how much time, effort and tenacity it took. Every success deserves a proper celebration.

I’m certain that if we work on our recognition systems, our people’s performance will improve.

Stronger together – building partnerships for success
A cornerstone of our current strategy for maintaining a healthy business revolves around the development of partnerships. You need to team up with companies that can strengthen your value propositions (and vice versa).

If we can only offer a certain segment within a potential project, we need to actively seek a partner that can provide the rest of the solution. Neither of us could tackle the project individually, but as a single entity, we provide a far more attractive and competitive bid.

Of course, cross-company partnerships are nothing new. But we need to steer away from inefficient business models of mere supply-and-support that previously characterised these partnerships. As a solutions provider that typically targets segments of a larger project, innovative, flexible and open-minded approaches to opportunities are paramount. This may require flexibility in how we can package tailored solutions to a local market. Paying constant attention to local megatrends and industrial requirements is key, but so is how to respond to these by tailoring technology combinations – and finances – in innovative ways that address the client’s specified requirements.

As we sail forward in the stormy waters of FY2016, I’m positive we can continue to achieve growth, and increase our market share. But we need to be smart in our technology offerings through an acute awareness of client requirements and limitations; we need to maximise the potential of our human resources through intrapreneurship and recognition; and we need to be tenacious and remain positive in our drive for successful results.