We’re sending out the latest edition of our Ignite newsletter in just a couple of hours with the subject line, “Don’t go it alone in today’s economy.”  In addition to being a provocative phrase that I hope gets a lot of people to open and read this month’s issue, I think that there is also some important wisdom in the phrase that bears highlighting.

First, talk to your frontline employees. People will come up with all sorts of innovative ways to cut costs and increase revenues beyond what can be dreamed up in the corner office.  That’s not a knock on senior leadership, but rather an acknowledgement of the fact that the people closest to the work can see things that escape the eye of those farther removed.  

Second, people who have a say in determining what should be cut and what new plans should be implemented have a higher degree of buy-in when it comes time to actually implement those plans.  In other words, “People who plan the battle, rarely battle the plan.”

Don’t go it alone.  You’ll get better ideas and more cooperation when you involve others in the process.