Oleg Konovalov: “Opening New Horizons Is Always Risky”

Oleg, describe yourself in 50 words or less.

I have two hats – practical and academic. I was operating businesses in the UK and internationally for 25 years and concentrating now on consultancy and developing my latest project, Organisational Anatomy, further. I am also a researcher with a doctoral degree in business from the Durham University Business School.

How did you get involved with the entreprneurial scene?

I dived into the whirls of the entrepreneurial scene in 2006 having rich international experience and with tremendous craving to explore new areas of business in my own way. I left a well-paid, comfortable top management position and started my own fishing business and later moved into production and distribution of fish products. I realised that modern business demands more powerful and sophisticated techniques as conventional approaches have limits and are not always effective. Eventually, I set up an ultimate goal for myself – to develop something which can be valuable for millions of managers and entrepreneurs.

Questioning the issues of performance in terms how it could be improved led me to an independent research on developing a holistic view of organisations, which I started in 2011. Later, in 2013, I sold my businesses focusing purely on this project. It was not an easy-flow process but quite demanding, exhaustive and full of worries. It is much easier to work when you can see immediate results and tough when a goal is distant in terms of time, and a project is driven only by a dream and belief in greatness of my goal, as something unique and very valuable.

As result, I developed a new management concept and wrote a book about it, Organisational Anatomy, which views all external and internal organisational processes from biological perspective and allows higher performance, optimum configuration of businesses and recognition of organisational pathologies and diseases. My book gained endorsements from fDi Magazine (Financial Times), UK Trade & Investment, Small Business Trends (USA) and has gone on the list of top business books.

What are you currently working on?

Now I am working in the second phase of this project, more practical – establishing an Institute of Organisational Diagnostics which will have three core activities – research, training for entrepreneurs and managers, and consultancies. I see it as a point of management expertise where managers and entrepreneurs can get answers and gain a most advanced practical knowledge relevant to their daily practice.

How did you discover the need for this project?

The performance rate of organisations has not increased over the last twenty-thirty years. The life span of large companies even dropped down almost five times comparing to those fifty years ago. Startups and small businesses are in an even tougher position and must operate with a high professional level from the very beginning as a matter of survival. At the same time, competition is getting stronger and stronger. Competition for resources and changing customer demands redefine the “rules of the game” for today’s businesses which necessitates new skills, a sophisticated understanding of internal and external processes, effective managerial practices and well-balanced, decisive programmes of action.

Success in the 21st century commerce demands the development of surgically precise organisational strategies which are based on a clear understanding of organisational characteristics, available resources, and knowledge accumulated in order to exploit an organisation’s potential to its fullest in the ever more competitive race for exceptional performance and survival.

I was thinking how to empower managers and entrepreneurs in their challenges in recognising organisational problems and enabling them to diagnose or predict problems, particularly at the earliest stages. This is how I got involved with my project “Organisational Anatomy”.

What drives you?

I am always looking for gaps in the markets or processes which allow me to see potentials and then I am thinking how to get a hard job done in the most efficient way. An idea is a ripple on water and catching it is a miracle itself. Then, it is time for hard work. This is like finding a diamond, polishing it and setting it into a beautiful crown.

On this way, competition with others often keeps us within boundaries of patterned thinking and so, limits everything. I am always aiming to achieve this beauty of elegance and creativity of what I have done, whether it is a developing a new way of presenting seafood products in my early days, or recent Organisational Anatomy, I am challenging myself to the greatest extent first, then comparing an idea with the most advanced ideas in this field. I know for sure that success doesn’t last forever and as soon as my product becomes a routine standing strong on its own foots, then it is the time for something new.

7 years from now: Where do you see yourself?

In my view, any entrepreneur is a game-changer in terms of creating new products, implementing unique business models, changing approaches and developing advanced knowledge. I don’t know what will happen to me within seven years but in any case, I want to be even more creative and full of energy for new exiting ventures on a global scale. And for sure, I want to continue the development of the Organisational Anatomy concept and helping as much businesses to accomplish their goals as possible.

What trends would you bet your money on? And how will they influence everyday life?

I would not bet on products as they have relatively short life spans. We are facing swift changes in demands for different products, higher consumption of energy, food, hi-tech products, and so on. The growing population can be characterised by higher expectations for everything. At the same time, resources are limited. Humanity is still learning how to manage resources available to their fullest. It seems like the time for next generation of management knowledge and technologies. Therefore, I will be looking into something critical like efficiency of resource utilisation whether it will be energy or raw materials, which would allow increased capacities and enhanced quality of final products. It will give us cheaper energy, lower costs, new advanced products and the potential for further development of all businesses. Opening new horizons is always risky and expensive but I will bet my money on such an endeavour.

How do you see change?

Everything is changing around us at every moment – events, economic situation, circumstances, people’s expectations, demands and so on. The importance of change is unquestionable as a matter of survival and success. We must adopt our companies to environmental changes. The problem is that change is often taken as a management fad or an uncontrollable trend which should go on it’s own. As soon as change is not focused towards a particular goal it loses value and importance becoming a wearing task which demotivates people. I have seen cases where first time entrepreneurs ruined their promising businesses by implementing changes in not fully formed companies. Change demands knowledge and good thinking and not a jerky, irresponsible approach. Also, it is important to remember that change can be considered as successful when people stop talking about it and the costs of said change are recovered. Thus, make your business strong first, and then think of changes as a mean of strengthening your business.

Do you have a “hero”? If so, who and why / why not?

I am like a student who ignores authorities initially and values achievements of giants with time, in a course of gaining experience and knowledge. I don’t have “heroes” but a lot of respect for such personalities as Bill Gates and Elon Musk for their vision, altruism, energy and drive. They are developing a vision and path for generations ahead by being business commanders and change initiators. It is important to learn from such people and compare one’s own vision with theirs.

What advice would you give first time entrepreneurs?

Developing a new business is never easy. The initial idea is only an ignition key to sparkle a process. The most difficult part is to stay focused and be extremely rational in creating and maintaining all company’s processes and functions. Here is where most entrepreneurs, even experienced ones, fail.

My advice is to nurture your idea, make others love it and support you, but be extremely creative, rational and pragmatic to make it shine for years ahead. Otherwise, any brilliant idea will not gain value and will die soon.

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