Being able to change in business and in life often requires swift action. Sometimes you need the nimble manoeuvrability of a speedboat rather than the hulking awkwardness of an oil tanker. One can turn 360 degrees in an instant, the other has a turning circle as wide as the ocean.
Through business recovery in the next few months and years, there will be winners and losers. There will be businesses that thrive and prosper, there will be others who remain the same, the rest will struggle, become smaller or disappear altogether.
Key to a sustainable future is the ability to manage the ‘here and now’. One must ensure that what you are offering right now is what people need and want and will actually use and pay for. Now not later. Businesses really do need to scale themselves according to current demand. That may be bigger than before, or staying the same or becoming smaller. Whatever, it should be affordable and should avoid sinking the business or household into further debt or stacking up other liabilities. This requires some tough and emotional decision-making. It must be done. Avoid it at your peril. We simply do not know what is going to happen next, so base your decisions on what you know and risk assess and scenario plan, think about the what ifs. Build up your analysis through clear thinking and by talking to others to gather their thoughts. Be prepared to change your mind the next day, week or month.
By becoming smaller now, yet sustainable and as light as you can be with all your liabilities, you will be in a much better place to respond to future opportunities and steadily grow again – if that’s what you want. Please be sure of what you want. Don’t unthinkingly aim to return to what was. Key questions: Is that/this needed anymore? How has the world moved on? How have you changed? What do you want out of your future work and life? Listening to the lessons these answers give is hugely important.
We must all change and understand our attitudes and capacity to change. Are you change-phobic (metathesiophobic to be precise)? How prepared are you to change? Are your batteries running low or are they charged up and ready for the challenge? How fast and able are you to effect change? Ask yourself all these questions and use the answers to create your action plan and assemble the support you need. If you need to find a change enthusiast to buoy you up, get one and get one now.
It is a good thing to have the energy of a speedboat but think things through before acting too impulsively. Things could get messy. But avoid the risk of retreating to a slow and lumbering movement, like an oil tanker, if you are doing this to escape or avoid the inevitable. Time is money after all.
James Hempsall OBE: workstyle-lifestyle 