Ready to navigate through the next few months?
We have all been in stormy seas over the last 6 months, and whether you have helped your business survive the economic downturn so far, or have been one of the businesses who pivoted fasted and thrived, I suspect we have all been taking stock. The weather has changed, the kids are back at school, and together this has brought with it the usual round of coughs and flu, and of course a rise in the numbers of covid cases being diagnosed. The result has been some belt-tightening in terms of social distancing, and a general taking stock amongst the population in general.
Of course it might also be easy to forget the (slightly warmer) days in the spring when we were all confined to barracks, but trying to make sure our cashflow was protected and we had a plan for the next week or few. It might also be easy to miss the signs of the economic recovery. The UK economy grew by 6.6% in July, and was the third consecutive month of growth – this is great news. We may not all be back to pre-Covid levels, but it is an encouraging sign.
The big question at the moment is what are we expecting for the next quarter? We’re already seeing more constraints on business – with localised lock-downs, early “supping up” time and more people isolating (whether with Covid, or just coughs and flu). This will undoubtedly result in a widening of the gap between successful businesses and those struggling. Indeed I’m expecting to see more businesses coming up for sale or being acquired through this autumn which will be an opportunity for some.
Sailing the stormy seas
The real challenge though is being able to prepare for, and respond to, the changing situation so that we can power our businesses to success. So let’s reflect briefly on preparation. The key here is knowing your destination – if you set out on a journey you need to understand where you are going or you will struggle to arrive. Take setting sail in a boat. If you know the port you are heading for you know how to respond to the changing tides and winds so that you can correct your course and still be confident of arriving in port. You may even need to tack and head off in a completely different direction or two so that you can sail into the wind – but crucially, you will still arrive.
On the other hand if you are not clear – just generally looking to head south for example, then you might arrive, but the chances are you will miss your destination, and you might even miss land altogether!
What’s your destination?
So step one in planning for success is knowing where you are going. As accurately as possible. Be specific! In my book this means avoiding setting goals like “survive covid” or “grow the business”, in lieu of the much more specific “end this quarter with a turnover of at least £x” or “sign up y new clients before Christmas”. Then it is a case of looking at the changes we see through the lens of “how can I respond to these changes so that I can still hit my goal”.
There is a critical difference between responding and reacting. When we are prepared, have sufficient training and a clear sight of our goals then we can respond to a given set of circumstances in a levelheaded and effective way. On the other hand when we are worried, under duress and starting to panic we can often react in a knee-jerk manner with actions that are neither thoughtfully conceived nor efficiently carried out. The difference boils down to the level of preparation, prior planning and intentional action. This is why the military and the emergency services take the time to be really clear of their objectives for any operation, and practice, practice, practice beforehand so the responses are second nature.
So how do we become second nature in business. The main thing is to plan for the different scenarios and have your contingencies in place. For example none of us want to think about the dreadful consequences of a fire in our business that destroys all our records or equipment. Unfortunately if this then happens we may well be left having to think on the fly, shop around for new kit and rebuild our data whilst under immense stress. And this doesn’t make for good decision making. Conversely if we take some time to sit down and think about it when everything is working well we will make better decisions, we can put solutions in place (such as a great IT maintenance and backup contract!) and in the event of disaster we have the answers and it is just a case of pressing the button and getting them running.
Turn hindsight into foresight
So what about the current situation? Whilst many will not have been thinking about a pandemic we do generally see economic downturns every 8-10 years. The current one has been harder and faster, but for any individual business the effects are similar – a massive challenge to normal business operations and severe stress on cashflow. So why not plan for the next downturn? If you are already feeling the impacts then it is back to watching your cashflow, continuing to communicate hard, and keep marketing. If the impact hasn’t hit yet then now is the time to plan for it – pre-empt it and be ready to weather the autumn storms.
Just remember what has made you successful in the past, and what set you apart from other businesses in your sector. So how can you plan to use that knowledge to help you grow through whatever the next few months has to throw at us…
And remember, you are not alone! If you want any advice or support in putting a plan in place, please reach out to me, Rupert Hine, at ruperthine@actioncoach.com. I’d be happy to have a free consultation with you so that, together, we’ll reach your destination.
