Events in our business and personal lives have been painfully disrupted by this pandemic, unsettling us with its many multi-layered irritants. Could this crisis afford us the opportunity to re-set the clock and to re-evaluate all our business practices so that massive challenges in fact convert into meaningful change?

Prepare now for recovery; sooner or later it will come

This may be the time to get busy considering future growth pathways. Do the homework now. Keeping abreast of changing spending patterns, attitudes and values of the business’ target group may lead to future growth opportunities. Diversification of products, services or market segments should be explored to ensure that the business is less reliant on one sector or product and so more robust in the face of future challenges. Whilst unsettling and stretching, this may be the key factor which dictates how the business rebounds once recovery happens.

Further developing the business’ digital competencies

The Pandemic has forced many more reluctant businesses to embrace remote working; thereby accelerating their journey to become more digital. Harness this momentum and build on this foundation. Your business’ digital capabilities will enhance its ability to compete in an increasingly “in the cloud” business environment. Digital strategies can be nurtured to tap into new marketplace opportunities with potential reach to new customer segments as well as adding efficiency to your organisation.

Be ruthless with business strategies/ processes which are not adding value to your customer base

This may be an ideal time to re-configure out-dated precedents. Being a slave to a process that no longer serves your business interests or adds value to your customer experiences sounds a death knell to your business. An unsentimental, non-biased mindset is imperative to re-evaluate your priorities and systems against meaningful, measurable outcomes. If the why leads you to the conclusion that a process is not augmenting business performance, then urgent revision is required.

Empowering People

A flexible, resilient, diverse workforce is the hallmark of business success in testing times. Out of the office dynamics and politics many employees, working remotely without direct supervision, have surprised business managers with their productivity, innovation and resourcefulness. New talent has been unearthed as many, in lower ranks of the hierarchical structure, have found solutions to pressing, immediate problems. Perhaps now is the time to consider whether a flatter business structure may better serve the business’ needs or whether better use of cross-functional, multi-skilled teams may be embraced, to better realise the business’ vision and goals long-term.

A business must maintain a healthy ”eco-system”

Like a fragile eco-system, the success of a business requires the smooth running of all its constituent parts. This can be measured by the extent to which the business can be sustained under pressure. Businesses depend on many stakeholders for its health; its suppliers, vendors, customers, employees and investors to name a few. Its vital to take stock of how these fit together holistically and whether there are any kinks in the system. A flaw in the business eco-system, as in nature ,can have catastrophic consequences. Making that assessment now will allow any necessary changes to put in place so that the business can hit the ground running when recovery comes.