Is your organisation sinking? Numbers don’t lie
Published: 04:06 PM,Jun 23,2025 | EDITED : 08:06 PM,Jun 23,2025
You used to work for an organisation that had a strong brand. Almost everyone you speak with/to was either a happy customer (for having used or is using the organisation’s product/service) or was feeling lucky as an employee (for having worked or is working in the same organisation in question).
The workforce was massive, the customers were recurring and long-term, and the organisation’s reputation was superior due to their consistent quality and excellence delivery of services, as perceived from the eye of every stakeholder, be it from the employees, customers, partners, government to the shareholders per se.
Fast forward today, everything may look great from the outside, be it from the brand visibility, media coverage, leadership and the workforce in place, yet the reality is the titanic ship (the organisation) may be sinking slowly. Does that apply to you (as a stakeholder) or as an external observer? Here’s a tip for those interested, check the financial performance as the numbers don’t lie.
Having served in a number of institutions, as an employee (providing a service) and/or as a customer (availing a service), providing professional advisory and consultancy to local and international organisations, and presently continue to serve as a director of boards for academic and financial institutions here in Oman, I had the opportunity to learn, observe, research and so as witness these type of organisations first hand, not in theory but in practice as well. If there is one advice I can share from the different sectors and cases I was exposed to on the same that would be the earlier you spot the warning signs, the greater your chances are for saving the organisation and the business from sinking.
The signs is what I will share in my article today.
Profits are declining, not only quarter by quarter, but also year over year. Revenue continues to fall while costs keep rising. The organisation’s share price continues to decline, keeping shareholders’ value low. These information are available for anyone to review (for any organisation that trades publically in a stock exchange).
For Oman, you may simply obtain the information via looking into the organisations that trade in the Muscat Stock Exchange website. For the private owned companies, just ask the owners for their audited financial performance results (balance sheet, profit & loss statement and the cash flow).
Numbers will give you details about the organisation’s health (profitable and making money or not). Internally, projects would be delayed, meetings will be many without clear agenda in place yet filled with colorful excuses, and talented employees would either be un-utilised or would leave quietly. Furthermore, the leadership team would either continue to change, especially the critical roles, and the remainder will operate on emotions as opposed to merit (who to promote or support) to stay afloat.
According to an interesting report published by McKinsey, only 1 in 10 companies that undergo a performance decline make a successful and sustained turnaround. Also, PwC study found that 70% of companies that failed to transform early ended up downsizing, selling off their assets, or even ultimately shutting down within a few years as a result. For those interested to read the report, you may find it under the title “Business growth: The leader’s blueprint” which explores the challenges large companies face in sustaining growth. Readers will find valuable insights into why many established organisations struggle to maintain momentum.
This article has no relation to any specific organisation but is rather generic know-how for those suffering the signs I mentioned in this article. Kodak, Blockbuster, Yahoo, Blackberry and Nokia, are examples of organisations that once had a spectacular brand name and was a leader in their respective industry i.e. in photography, mobile phone, internet service, movies and entertainment that sank like the titanic ship and virtually vanished off the globe. The cause was simply not seeing or taking action on the signs. Leaders (and well-wishers) that see the signs must not wait for the crisis to force change (as that may be too late). They need to lead the change by keeping emotions aside and facing the realities head on.
How? Stay tuned for the up-coming articles as I dwell based on what strategy works or worked from a global perspective.
Tariq al Barwani
The writer is the founder of Knowledge Oman.
The workforce was massive, the customers were recurring and long-term, and the organisation’s reputation was superior due to their consistent quality and excellence delivery of services, as perceived from the eye of every stakeholder, be it from the employees, customers, partners, government to the shareholders per se.
Fast forward today, everything may look great from the outside, be it from the brand visibility, media coverage, leadership and the workforce in place, yet the reality is the titanic ship (the organisation) may be sinking slowly. Does that apply to you (as a stakeholder) or as an external observer? Here’s a tip for those interested, check the financial performance as the numbers don’t lie.
Having served in a number of institutions, as an employee (providing a service) and/or as a customer (availing a service), providing professional advisory and consultancy to local and international organisations, and presently continue to serve as a director of boards for academic and financial institutions here in Oman, I had the opportunity to learn, observe, research and so as witness these type of organisations first hand, not in theory but in practice as well. If there is one advice I can share from the different sectors and cases I was exposed to on the same that would be the earlier you spot the warning signs, the greater your chances are for saving the organisation and the business from sinking.
The signs is what I will share in my article today.
Profits are declining, not only quarter by quarter, but also year over year. Revenue continues to fall while costs keep rising. The organisation’s share price continues to decline, keeping shareholders’ value low. These information are available for anyone to review (for any organisation that trades publically in a stock exchange).
For Oman, you may simply obtain the information via looking into the organisations that trade in the Muscat Stock Exchange website. For the private owned companies, just ask the owners for their audited financial performance results (balance sheet, profit & loss statement and the cash flow).
Numbers will give you details about the organisation’s health (profitable and making money or not). Internally, projects would be delayed, meetings will be many without clear agenda in place yet filled with colorful excuses, and talented employees would either be un-utilised or would leave quietly. Furthermore, the leadership team would either continue to change, especially the critical roles, and the remainder will operate on emotions as opposed to merit (who to promote or support) to stay afloat.
According to an interesting report published by McKinsey, only 1 in 10 companies that undergo a performance decline make a successful and sustained turnaround. Also, PwC study found that 70% of companies that failed to transform early ended up downsizing, selling off their assets, or even ultimately shutting down within a few years as a result. For those interested to read the report, you may find it under the title “Business growth: The leader’s blueprint” which explores the challenges large companies face in sustaining growth. Readers will find valuable insights into why many established organisations struggle to maintain momentum.
This article has no relation to any specific organisation but is rather generic know-how for those suffering the signs I mentioned in this article. Kodak, Blockbuster, Yahoo, Blackberry and Nokia, are examples of organisations that once had a spectacular brand name and was a leader in their respective industry i.e. in photography, mobile phone, internet service, movies and entertainment that sank like the titanic ship and virtually vanished off the globe. The cause was simply not seeing or taking action on the signs. Leaders (and well-wishers) that see the signs must not wait for the crisis to force change (as that may be too late). They need to lead the change by keeping emotions aside and facing the realities head on.
How? Stay tuned for the up-coming articles as I dwell based on what strategy works or worked from a global perspective.
Tariq al Barwani
The writer is the founder of Knowledge Oman.