Realisation dawning

Observation

• Based on talking to my clients my instinct is that a small number (5-10%) of businesses are facing short term existential threats and their focus is survival, an equally small number face business changing opportunities and their focus is executing on them, and the vast majority (80+%) are in the middle, facing opportunities and threats, having to adjust to a very different and uncertain world ahead, probably breathing a sigh of relief that the first wave of activity has been achieved surprisingly well but I expect now facing a dip as they realise this is for the long term and they can’t keep sprinting at the current pace.

A Leadership Challenge

Reason To Believe vs Acting On Reality

• People need to retain a belief in the long term success of the business and yet act with a speed and decisiveness as if the business is under mortal threat or, for the lucky ones, there is a step change opportunity for growth.

• For the leader this means almost being schizophrenic in your thinking and acting. As F Scott Fitzgerald put it, in what now seems rather archaic language:

‘The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function’.

A Practical Action

Force Focus On Different Aspects of the Conversation

• Create small (2/3 of your best people) teams with a focused brief to come back at speed with options and ideas. By limiting the numbers and the scope of what they need to think about, you are reducing the conflicting ideas they have to grapple with, which should help them think more clearly. The compromises and trade-offs can come when you pull it all together. The four areas I have seen people focusing on are a variation of:

  1. Scenario planning /cash flow management – in a very unpredictable world, what are the likely outcomes and what does that mean for our options and cash flow

  2. Human impact/comms – how do we keep our people/stakeholders safe, engaged and performing?

  3. Strategic direction – what of our previous strategic direction needs to be protected, accelerated or changed?

  4. Operational delivery – what do we need to do to stay functioning?

• It won’t be a perfect science and you need to stop it becoming a monster. Choosing the right group to pull the threads together and shape the way forward is one of your key decisions. I would encourage you not to automatically assume it is your current decision making group/process – a variation of a war cabinet may make sense.