COVID 19:
Navigating Business In An Uncertain World

Published: November 25, 2020

This article is for business leaders and managers trying to make sense of the current reality; and who are still active in stabilising their business during the Covid-era, without losing sight of long-term future development and ambitions.

Looking back and looking ahead: The COVID-era challenge!

The essence and nature of our collective challenge as business leaders has been dependent on several key aspects…. what markets we are in…. whether the business offer is closely aligned to human priority in a pandemic (directly or indirectly)…. the strength of our brand/offer…. and the character, capacity & capability of our people and leadership teams to adapt quickly to change. Whether your business is currently in high-demand or has had to make significant changes to survive, few businesses have got this far without some level of ‘innovation’ and agility on the hoof.

The reality is, everyone’s market and business has been shaken up and there has been no status quo or incremental growth this year…. just large ripples coming across the water from successive COVID-stones being dropped in; unpredictably with wave after wave affecting customer demand (positively or negatively) and our ability to supply.

In the world of Enrichyou, it has been our job to train, develop and resource leaders to deliver sustainable performance from their role, business and industry. From our own clients and contacts, we have heard of stories like:

• Packaging recycling business: secured £10m of expansion investment and have recruited 80 people during the last 6 months. Full steam ahead with business plan largely unaffected.
• Online mail order business: demand through home shopping up by 50%, in expediential growth.
• Manufacturing business: one strong division (medical) two decimated divisions (automotive and furniture) – overall business down by 40% and cutting back. Being re-sized by Jan 2021.
• Civil engineering equipment: maintenance division (strong), capital sales division (decimated) – overall business down by 30%, absorbing downturn and holding firm.
• Equipment design engineers: business mostly holding up, some furloughing around the edges to manage short-medium term costs.
• Cinema group: furloughed twice, now in the process of cutting back with little certainty and no annual breakeven point in sight, let alone positive trading cash-flow.
• Cylinder manufacturer: strong front end of the year around medical products, weak back end of the year where other market demand is low. Currently reigning-in budgets and tightening their belts whilst planning for 2021.

Plus…. several clients with large corporate customers, who are now experiencing late payments and non-payments as businesses hang onto cash.

Stability: Understanding the roots and DNA of your business

As leadership & management development specialists, we have a proven history of ‘enabling sustainable performance’ across business functions, teams and individuals. Essentially, we provide our services in alignment to five continuous development areas in organisations where the business is active and intends to be around for the long-term….

• Transformation: where we help teams, functions and individuals that are struggling or under-performing and need ‘a righting process’. The overall brand reputation or business performance is being negatively affected – internally and/or externally.
• Performance: helping teams and individuals within the business unit to be ‘formed’ and developed as part of a professional management team, with a strong culture founded on performance, sustainability and role/function integrity.
• Growth: where the business is needing to develop its management and leadership capacity, capability and performance culture to move to the next level of business. This is where innovation and entrepreneurship skills need to come to life across the whole organisation.
• Governance: where we attend to commercial integrity, ownership, policy, business systems and process issues, so that the framework and structure of the business is fit for both mission and purpose into the long-term.
• 1-to-1: where we help individuals to remain well and get on top of their current or future role with vision, proactivity, ambition, personal integrity and leadership.

Despite the pandemic, none of this has changed for Enrichyou over the last year. Our core DNA, business offer and strategy continues to evolve naturally. COVID has not changed our raison-d’etre one iota. Our ‘why’ and our ‘what’ haven’t changed…. although inevitably, the ‘how’ has had to!

What has had to change for you and your business?

• Has it been superficial or deep rooted?
• Have you had to go into new markets or adapt in current ones?
• Have you had to mothball, make-do and mend, or pull off the miraculous?
• Do you still have a cogent offer with all the same routes to market and effective levels of market engagement?
• Has change happened in the method of supply rather than in the substance of what is supplied?
• Have you had to re-engage with your core DNA and business raison-d’etre?

Your Leadership Assessment

When you look back over the last year and assess how your business managers and leaders have fared, what do you find? The commitment level is unlikely to be in question; a crisis often brings out the best in us, at a character level. Has anyone shown a lack of capacity? Has anyone over-delivered so much so that they can make the next step up in management role? Who has struggled to innovate or adapt? Is anyone left tired and exhausted, or struggling to orientate in the ‘new normal’? Has the whole management team shown the need for greater levels of leadership? Has any lack of creativity, innovation or agility shown itself up? Would there be benefit in higher levels of a professional management culture; a bit more proactivity, some tighter disciplines and rigor?…. these are only a few areas of consideration!

Looking ahead, the overall question is; what is your assessment of the state, capacity and capability of your management population in the context of the next 12–60 months? What glaring gaps have emerged that can only be filled with a leadership and management development approach?

Continuous Development

Whatever the gaps and management development needs, our approach to leadership & management development requires a relatively small investment in time and cost, from as little as 1 or 2 days per month, going on in the background across key parts of the business. This affordable and budgeted approach comes with an agreed value-add AND offers guaranteed business outcomes – so there’s little or no risk in starting a conversation with us, even through the uncertainty of Covid.

The real consideration is, what and/or who is in need of a priority-led management and leadership development approach in your business?

• Is it a struggling individual, team or function?
• Is there a fundamental skills gap affecting management performance?
• Do you have a glaring hole in management capacity or capability?
• Is there a level or layer of management which is critical to current performance, survival or ongoing role/business succession, that needs external support or development?
• Do the board of directors need help adapting to the ‘new normal’ or help in re-engaging with the core DNA and raison-d’etre of the business?

How can we help?

Before committing to working with Enrichyou, we want to help you identify a priority-led ‘needs now’ solution that can serve as a low-cost test drive of our service…. so you can get to see the outcomes and benefits of working with us in advance…. and for added peace of mind, we’ll give you a 100% money-back guarantee on results…. after all, we have a flawless record on achieving client-agreed outcomes spanning two decades! References available on request.

What to do next: available to all business leaders looking at leadership and management development gaps during 2021….

Book a FREE Virtual/Online Advisory meeting by engaging in a process of conversation, with no obligation to take up our service. Advisory and exploratory only.

SCHEDULE A VIRTUAL CALL TODAY – [click here]

 

 

 

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