None of us are experts. None of us have all the answers. We are all feeling immense uncertainty and none of us are truly in control, really. You cannot solve a complex, multi-step equation in your head. You need to be able to isolate variables, simplify pieces that can be simplified, think differently about terms inside versus outside the parentheses. You can only tackle one thing at a time. In the business world, we talk about the power of networks—strong ties that provide us with deep connections, weak ties that provide us with informational flow. This has most often been applied to getting you the job/contract/opportunity you’ve been looking for. But extend this further. Don’t let guilt get in the way of understanding and being a part of humanity. There are going to be drawdowns, low points, periods of depression and anxiety. We are all being impacted differently, which means that we are all going to need to handle this differently. If you’re the leader of a large organization, what are the two or three things that really made your first 5 to 10 customers passionately fall in love with your product or service. That’s where you’ll find your North Star, which will allow you to dust off old things or seek out new oceans. Look for inefficiencies. Where are we lacking, where are things not operating as efficiently or as effectively as they could? There were inefficiencies that existed before this pandemic, and there are new efficiencies that have cropped up since. The ones that come to my mind immediately are things like supply chain issues, deliveries and goods out of stock. Write a different story, with a different story angle, based on who you are and your before-and-after viewpoint before this tsunami uprooted all of our lives. Read More >>
Monthly Archives: April 2020
PIVOTING IN A PANDEMIC: INSIGHTS FROM TWO VETERAN CEOS ON TRANSFORMING A BUSINESS IN CRISIS
How you live in the moment right now while having an uncertain future is something that I’ve been grappling with on a lot of different levels. It’s not just about trying to make money. It’s not at all about trying to make money, actually. A lot of companies have gone one way or another in terms of masks and how they think about donations. We feel like we’re working for more than just a higher stock price. When this passes two years from now, we still remember to say those things and to express just how much we appreciate the team. We’re working to bring our friends back. Read More >>
5 WAYS TO PIVOT YOUR BUSINESS DURING A CRISIS
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.” —Charles Darwin. There are likely changes you wanted to make in your business but haven’t and now is a time to act. Evaluate your talent, review your contracts, decide what is truly necessary to run your business. It’s time to streamline so you can move forward without the weight of unnecessary cost burden. If you’re primarily run out of a brick-and-mortar store, it’s time to find the digital version of whatever work you were doing. Leverage your current assets and resources and align them with your customers’ current needs. Continue to maintain a strong relationship with your clients whether directly, individually, in newsletters, and or/via social media. Show them you care. The objective of collaboration can be new ideas, exploring synergies, and creating new business partnerships, where 1+1 = 5. There has never been a better time to try (and fail!). Now is the time to experiment. Quickly launch new ideas with minimal investment. Focus on results. Learn and improve with each iteration. Persistence pays off in the end. If your business has been greatly impacted by the current crisis, you’re not alone. Don’t focus on what you can’t control…think about what you CAN. Read More >>
HOW DISCOMFORT MAKES US MORE CREATIVE
Minor disruptions to the status quo, against a background of psychological safety, may be the best formula for creative cultures. Li Huang, INSEAD Assistant Professor of Organisational Behaviour, pointed out that even the most innovative minds may expand, or contract, in response to environmental and cultural cues. “There was a time when Albert Einstein was attending a school that evaluated and tested students quite harshly, and he nearly lost his interest in science. It was only when he failed a test and moved to a different school that valued individual thought and creativity that he started to develop his interest further.” A little pressure can induce positive growth. “When plants are under a certain amount of stress, that’s when they go into an entirely different stage of growth – whether it’s from no flowering to flowering, or flowering to fruiting. It’s the same for human beings.” Read More >>
HOW WILL THINGS BE DIFFERENT WHEN IT’S ALL OVER?
SARS is credited with being one of the accelerators for the adoption of e-commerce in China and the rise of Alibaba. We should not expect that the resolution of the Covid-19 epidemic will be a return to a 2019 reality. Many organizations are understandably focused on reacting to and coping with the short term challenges presented by the unfolding epidemic. A rebound of demand is inevitable, and using high-frequency data proxies for the movement of goods and people, production and confidence, we can see that it is already beginning to happen in China. Our analysis shows that 14% of companies across all sectors actually grow top and bottom lines during recessions and downturns. Those who flourish share the common traits of preparation, preemption, growth orientation and long term transformation. They take a long term view and place growth bets when competitors are retrenching. In anticipating this new post-crisis world and seizing opportunity in adversity, we need to consider several shaping forces: new learning, new attitudes, new habits and new needs. There is opportunity in adversity in every business. It may seem callous to stress opportunity in the midst of a humanitarian crisis, but leaders have an obligation to look ahead, to anticipate and meet new customer needs, to evolve their strategies and organizations, and in so doing sustain the prosperity of their enterprises. Read More >>
DON’T LET YOUR OBSESSION WITH PRODUCTIVITY KILL YOUR CREATIVITY
Our current work world is obsessed with productivity. But our relentless quest to be productive is undermining one of the most important abilities in today’s workplace: creativity. First, gather raw materials as a stimulus. Draw together provocations and thought starters related to your area of interest. Next, mentally digest the raw material. The final step is to simply do nothing. Most of us can probably identify with this time-tested approach. Our best ideas do seem to approach us in moments of disengagement. Have a moment every day where you’re trying to achieve nothing. Giving your brain a moment to relax might lead to your best idea yet. Read More >>
FOUR STEPS MARKETERS CAN TAKE TO NAVIGATE THE PANDEMIC
It’s hard to imagine a more challenging environment for marketers than the current moment. With a global pandemic affecting the way nearly everyone in the world works and lives, nothing feels certain anymore. And even the uncertainties are shifting rapidly. If you’re a marketing leader, one of the first things you want to do is pause everything that you can. This is easier said than done, however. These days many campaigns are automated, run by algorithms without a lot of human direction. This can make it challenging to even know which campaigns are even running. So before you can press pause, you need to figure out everything you’re doing across every channel. While some companies are dealing with an unexpected wave of demand, most are crippled with the opposite problem: business has dried up, and it’s dried up quickly. Even if you had a lot of money to spend on advertising, people are not feeling inspired to go spend a lot of money. For brands that do want to move forward with a campaign in the current environment, they need to ask whether their current message is still relevant and appropriate. Ultimately, brands need to make sure that whatever messaging they engage in, it is consistent with who they are and what their brand stands for. Read More >>
WHAT START-UPS NEED TO SCALE AND SUCCEED
Statistically, the odds against a start-up are formidable. Companies that emphasize talent, customer-centricity, and core principles are the ones most likely to succeed. Most start-ups have one thing in common: they usually fail. But the minority who beat the odds and survive share a number of traits. To overcome those extraordinary odds, an unusual amount of speed, hard work, and agility is required by the founders and first employees to rapidly develop the business and achieve enough momentum to delight initial customers, attract great talent, and secure further funding. The impatience you highlight is more about ambition, competitive instincts, and, ultimately, survival. Successful scale-ups also need to listen carefully to what customers, staff, partners, and other stakeholders are telling them—through data or otherwise—and act quickly to adjust their model accordingly. Fundamentally, the frame of reference needs to change. You need to think like a start-up about the market and how best to serve customers, free of legacy and other constraints. Read More >>
USE THE CALM TO PREPARE FOR THE STORM: HOW TO TEST YOUR BUSINESS PROCESS DURING THE LOCKDOWN
The long-term effects of COVID-19 on society and the global economy are yet to be fully seen, however, is that as markets plummet, businesses of all shapes and sizes are facing a harsh reality–rapidly adjust or risk going under. While remote working was once a flexible perk for employees, it’s now commonplace amidst the COVID-19 outbreak. The result is a mass experiment whereby companies have to coordinate teams in separate locations and still function efficiently. Your client relationships are likely to be strained during a crisis. Keeping regular contact with your clients is crucial. Many founders are panicking and making impulse decisions to counter temporary shortfalls in revenue. Instead, ask yourself if the time could be used for other activities that deliver more value in the medium and long term. Read More >>
HOW TO ACTIVATE MENTORING AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT WHEN YOU WORK FROM HOME
As more employees work from home because of the COVID-19 outbreak, virtual mentoring and collaboration have become part of the new normal. Companies are suddenly transitioning to remote work, which can impact development. Leaders need to rethink how to manage and develop their teams. Virtual mentoring is a key investment for companies to build talent capability. A virtual mentoring program done well motivates and inspires employees and increases productivity by providing structure rich with career development opportunities. It boils down to three essential components: communication, clarity, and connection. Cultures thrive when employees are learning and rising to meet new business challenges, which drives sustained success and long-term value creation. By prioritizing development, companies grow effective leaders to create a better employee experience. Read More >>
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