Article originally posted here by Medium

— by Duncan McFadzean

“It is up to us how we move through this crisis and come out of the other side. ……….When things come apart, there is always the opportunity to put them back together differently.” — Scottish Government Coronavirus (COVID-19): framework for decision making (published 23rd April 2020)

We’re realising we are facing a new normal. In the midst of the biggest economic, social and medical crisis of our lifetime, we have seen that this isn’t going to be a quick fix. Some of us want to rapidly return to all that we had before but we know that isn’t going to happen. Some of us want to start a peaceful revolution and make everything different but deep down we know that isn’t going to happen. But where we do have agency to make change, how can we lead well in this situation?

Build resilience by acknowledging what has been lost.

I’ve been making time to talk with CEOs and Chairmen in recent days, to listen and hear what they are battling with. The list is endless — lost employees that have had to be let go; lost business income and ability to deliver products & services; ripped up strategy plans, new products and services; lost investments and funding opportunities as people stepped back to re-evaluate their own stability; personal health battles & lost friends or family; lost sense of purpose and drive; lost rhythms.

As leaders, we need to not immediately step into what we need to rebuild. We need to acknowledge this. We need to name it, feel the pain of it, talk about it with others, and let others share their pain. Even if you have no medical, economic or major social suffering from this, there is still loss. Talk with your leadership and your teams about the pain, the loss, the sense of frustration and anger that the work and hopes for 2020 have radically changed. We know that anxiety, loneliness, depression, suicide are all rapidly increasing in the midst of this — our first step in creating a resilient organisation has to be to acknowledge all that has gone.

Scrap the distractions, the noise, the mistakes

This is potentially the biggest reset opportunity your organisation will ever have. Take the opportunity to cull, to simplify, to refocus on the most important things and remove the noise. Do this personally as a leader also — where is life out of balance, where are rhythms unhealthy, what wasn’t sustainable?
How many organisations will realise that in their practises and products or services they were exacerbating supply shortages of key natural resources? Or relying on insecure supply chains or turning a blind eye to supply chain abuses? Where are your financial structures wrong and needing adapted? Where have you turned away from your core mission and your vision? Where are you listening to too much noise?

Now is the time to stop. To withdraw from unimportant projects and to pull out of joint ventures that aren’t going anywhere. To refocus your team. To remind yourself of the why. What will you cut out? If we come out of this crisis going back to the way we were before, we have missed the most unbelievable opportunity to correct that which is wrong — whether personally or organisationally.

Agility & speed is key as we lean in to the new normal

Yesterday I found myself reading an interesting article on whether coronavirus spreads through surfaces, through small droplets remaining in the air and lingering, or through coughs and sneezes and that initial burst of droplets. We’ve all become micro-experts in fields that we knew nothing about in 2019. We have a sense of how lockdown will be released and we understand some of the new operating conditions we will live and work in.

The reality is that we also don’t know a lot — will Governments continue to flood the economy with cash; will the mass furoughs lead to mass unemployment; will the unemployment lead to mass anger and radical political movements; when will people travel and shop again; will remote working be more appealing or less appealing; when will schools go back etc. etc.

We have to learn to live with continual uncertainty, a constantly shifting environment and the answer has to be that we need to build our organisations to rapidly adapt with the changing demands.

1. Do we still have a business model in the new normal? What revenue streams are gone? Where might new needs arise? What do you have that can meet a new need? The story of the SnapBar is a great example of one organisation that has lost almost all of its multi-$m revenue and radically pivoted and is having great success. Accept that emotional attachment to products or services that worked in the past and won’t work in the new normal is not helpful.

2. Plan for the worst, hope for the best. Tim Ferris talks of the practise he has of imagining the worst case scenario and writing it down. Through that writing down, and then applying a sense of realism to it, he can both tackle his worst fears but also be clear on what a realistic worst case scenario is. You need to plan for a worst case scenario and apply a sense of realism. (If you don’t have a financial model that shows you monthly cash, you need one!)

3. Redeploy assets and restructure. Where are staff and consultants working on projects and products that are never going to fly in the new normal? Those need to be cancelled in favour of the key projects. People need to reskill and will work well on projects they believe in, rather than necessarily being deployed by expertise. Where do we need to restructure our financial position for the new normal and where do we need to offload divisions or businesses from our organisation?

4. In some cases, particularly for very new startups and charities, bootstrapping will become essential. Where can you earn, barter, collaborate in a way that does not leave you reliant on needing to fundraise from donors or investors. For larger companies and organisations this isn’t always possible and investors will remain for good, growing companies with a clear path to profitability. Do you have a revenue model that is more reliant on earned income than before pre-Covid19?

5. Speed — moving quickly to serve customers / clients / users will serve you well. Rapidly iterating is key — I attended a virtual conference this week that one of the organisations I work with was delivering. In 6 weeks we went from a 2000 person physical conference focused on one topic, to reorienting around new content, through a new platform, to an audience of c.8000 people. Speed, focus, rapid decisions are key — however painful those may be. In all of this the frequency of communication needs to rise going forwards.

Solve the new problems & give new answers

The new normal will create new opportunities for you, personally and with your organisation. Where can you take advantage of meeting the new needs? Every business and organisation wants to serve the biggest problems and address the greatest needs. Tackling major challenges can create a sense of drive in your employee base that will drive productivity and loyalty beyond any financial remuneration package — particularly amongst millennials and Gen Z. Here are the areas that stand out to me:

• We have all recognised the loss of connection. We’re more connected to those distant from us, but less connected to those closest to us beyond our immediate household

• We’ve all seen the value of being rooted and local. We’ve discovered what is missing in our neighbourhoods and how great it feels to walk into a shop and know someone in our local economy.

• We’re all valuing the storytellers amongst us — through books, films, TV, podcasts, articles — well produced, creative content can provide hope, entertainment, insight and inspiration.

• The developing world is about to have the worst medical, economic and social disaster that could befall it. Where can you help meet the needs?

• There has been a radical change in how we look after our environment. Climate change isn’t going away — as Governments refocus on getting their economies going again, and priorities shift, where is there scope for you to meet the needs?

• The mental health of Western society is declining rapidly. With rising anxiety, depression, loneliness, suicide, addictions and homelessness on the rise, where can you begin to meet the needs of the root causes? What answers can you bring to that?

We could all go back to normal. I swing from being an idealist (all will change) to a cynic (nothing will change) in these days. I hope we can be organisational leaders that can bring hope, restoration and a sense of purpose as we recapture that which was good from before and step into creating an amazing new normal.

For more information on COVID-19, please see our page highlighting some of the best resources out there for Faith Driven Entrepreneurs in this season.

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[ Photo by Danielle MacInnes ]