Three COVID "Lessons Learned" to Turn Crisis Into Opportunity!
Many businesses are finalizing their plans to re-open and recover during a continuing global pandemic. I own two client service businesses and have nothing but respect and empathy for the entrepreneurs and corporate executives leading these initiatives.
I have recently spoken with many executives who are reaching out with questions, seeking advice, or are interested in retaining my team to help with their COVID recovery strategies.
As a crisis manager, I spent many hours over many years questioning, analyzing, and re-imagining my methodologies and processes. Each company I work with is unique. The best solutions are always customized and tailored to each outcome they hope to achieve.
In mid-2017, I started to radically shift my approach to corporate crisis management to a more business-centric process. Crisis planning and business planning share many commonalities that can be integrated into a hybrid approach. They both deal with the future. They both involve dealing with internal vulnerabilities and external threats. They both require "strategic" thinking and planning.
Although, one key difference that stands out is the standard crisis plan uses boilerplate plate language and is public relations focused. The more I researched and reflected, the more I began to leverage my personal and our team's business acumen and executive expertise to deliver a business-focused strategy and action plan.
Crisis always brings the opportunity to learn, change, and improve. Here are a few of my COVID "lessons learned" to enable any business to be exceptionally prepared and immediately responsive to any future crisis.
Lesson 1 — Think "Business" Planning, not Crisis Planning
If there were ever a time to commit to "reinventing" or transforming your business, it would be in the real here and the right now.
Typical crisis plans target only three key response actions; First, the safety and protection of those impacted by the disaster, usually to minimize legal liability. Next is crisis messaging and communications. Finally, the survival of the organization.
Your plans define your priorities.
Industries such as travel, restaurants, and hotels, are being financially devastated and immediately face closure due to the response to the COVID pandemic. The same is true for many thousands of small businesses. Their immediate "crisis" and sole focus at this time is survival. This requires a strong business strategy, not a PR strategy.
My advice to those seeking corporate crisis management help at this point is straightforward. Reinvent, reconfigure, retool, or redevelop basic business strategies to position your company for immediate recovery and future success. Focus on the fundamentals.
Lesson Two — People First
The data is clear. "World-class" companies focus on people and relationships. They are connected to their employees, their customers, their supply chain, and other people who provide services and support essential to their success.
Crisis recovery provides a window of opportunity to accelerate change, "fix" pre-crisis deficiencies, and involve and engage people to develop new strategies to improve your performance, productivity, and operational results. Many companies are currently using outreach and feedback to drive their COVID recovery strategies.
Build your "new" company on a new foundation. Truly put people and relationships first.
Lesson Three — "Un-learn", "Re-Learn", Repeat
You have a simple choice. You can yearn for a return to normal. You can adapt to what others are defining as the new normal. Or, you can become energized and commit to settling for nothing less than an extraordinary and most exceptional future for your company. If you consider yourself a leader, now is the time to show up and prove it. You have many challenges, choices, and decisions to make. The next several months will define your "legacy" in many ways.
Those are a few of my thoughts on how to better prepare and position your company to survive and grow through every crisis you face. What steps are you taking to lead your team and company through the chaos and disruption the COVID pandemic has brought to your business?
