The Coming Battles
Many say business is like war. Well, if that’s true, we’re in a battle – a critical battle. But it follows that this battle, too, shall pass.
The national pandemic will level and decline. Responsible measures will be discovered and delivered. Before long, “social distancing” will be a passing phrase rather than current reality. Businesses reopen. Customers begin to emerge from their shelters. Hopefully, lessons will be learnt and applied.
So, now we are approach the next battlefields for business…
The first field is the pent-up market demand building that will produce short-term surge during the recovery - whether a flowing stream or a raging torrent who can tell? But it’s clear there is another, a backlog of work that has been amassing over these days. Challenges such as we’ve faced with COVID-19 (and here in Nashville, the tornado that preceded it) brought us to a grinding halt. But when we get unstuck, the surge will be daunting even to the prepared.
We will face new challenges, demands of an entirely different sort. The requirements of the long-term recovery will challenge us to the core. Our operational bottlenecks and workflow defects will become much more glaring in these fields. Our systemic dysfunctions will constrain our recovery.
In recent days, several leaders tell me they’re leveraging these days of interruption to “sharpen their swords” for the coming battles. They refuse to be victims. They’re proactive. They’re assessing their workflows and resources, both team members and tools, for ways to improve. Many leaders are seizing this opportunity to forge more efficient operations that can handle the increased coming workloads.
These leaders are not blind optimists. They’re realist-warriors who recognize there’s a time for everything and they’ve been handed an opportunity to improve. Some have engaged process improvement consultants and other specialists. Others are considering new business process automation tools that are more agile than legacy systems. All are re-evaluating to get more out of existing systems and teams.
Here’s to the leaders, the “generals” who create battle plans to transform upsetting disruptions into victories! Here’s to those “troops” who follow their example, rising to the occasion and embracing change fearlessly. Here’s to the courageous who plan and fight battles rather than cower in tents.
If you have a perplexing problem to solve in preparation for the next battles, I’d like to hear it. Simply comment and I may be able to connect you to the right people or companies that can help you sharpen your swords.
IT Executive
4yRandall Dennis you are correct that many businesses are sharpening their swords. I have to think there are many more that should be but don't know how. They refuse to adapt and recognize that things have changed. People talk about the new normal, but no one is sure what that looks like quite yet. I have zero desire to go to a restaurant at the moment and don't know when I will again. Sporting events, concerts, movie theaters... All are going to suffer for the time being. At other businesses, workers have tasted #workfromhome for the first time and are going to want it to continue. Managers who can't handle change will struggle to attract and retain talent. The smart ones are the ones you address here. They're preparing. They're going to emerge victorious over their slower, backwards-thinking competitors. Streamlining processes, focusing on just the key elements, and automating manual processes will be critical to survival. We're about to see a lot of companies that survived on mere inertia disappear. Their assets will be repurposed by those nimbler and hungrier.
Software Professional turned Marketing Maverick | I help Health & Wellness practitioners acquire new patients, streamline operations, and increase profitability.
4yInteresting article. I love the "sharpening the sword" concept. That is certainly what I am personally trying to do. I have been thinking a lot about restaurants lately. Some businesses will have a very tough time surviving through this (absent some government largess). There will be some "pent-up market demand", but I can say for certain that next time I go to a restaurant I will not be ordering three steaks to make up for the two I missed. And restaurants are a very low margin business to begin with, many do not have any sort of cushion to absorb losses like this. The businesses that survive and thrive will have to be very clever and resourceful. I remember here in Sacramento when the city council effectively banned Food Trucks (after lobbying from restaurants). The new regulations stated that food trucks had to move every 15 minutes, making it impossible for customers to know where they are. Most businesses simply stopped using their food trucks (other than festivals or events). But at least one clever food truck owner took to twitter and created a sort of food truck scavenger hunt by tweeting out to his customers where his next stop would be. When life returns to the new normal, restaurants will be available for cheap due to many of them going belly up. It will still be a high-risk, low-margin business. But aspiring restaurateurs should look at ways to automate or innovate without sacrificing service. For example, most restaurants still do inventory by having a human walk around with a clipboard and a pencil. Improving inventory management would not affect the customer experience but it could certainly make a difference in your labor costs. Anyway, thanks for the article. I wish the best to all the business "warriors" out there.