Will Covid-19 make or break you?

We have had a year of ambiguity and we will never go back to ‘normal’ for some industries and companies this has meant growth / opportunities and for others it has been meant something quite different.

Regardless of how I have been impacted professionally; everyone has been impacted personally.  This experience could have been positive or not so much. 

However I believe we are in the fork in the road…which path are you going to take?

We are now in May 2021 and you need to be clear is Covid19 going to make or break you?

What we know:

• The world has changed

• Companies have changed

• Households have changed

• How we think about work/life has changed

• A lot has changed

• We are not going back to ‘normal’

• There is ambiguity

• Consumer/Customer expectations have changed

How we respond?

Our initial response is survival – what do we need to do to survive Covid19 – personally and professionally.  The focus was on being able to survive and working out how to work with teams remotely. 

The response then shifted to thrive – how do to create opportunity. Restaurants moved to delivery, takeaway and industries and businesses pivoted.  Looking for opportunities to capitalise/optimise the business.

We are now living with ambiguity but businesses need to start revisiting its strategy, priorities and operations to ensure it is maximising its results.  We don’t have all the answers, we don’t know what normal is but continuing to move forward, make decisions and pivoting on changes is critical.

Key things to ensure you consider:

1. Customer/consumer expectations & how this has changed. Use data to validate.

2. Do you need to rethink your supply chain, suppliers and how you source your key services/goods?

3. How can you make your operations more cost effective?

4. Do you need to rethink your talent strategy – what do you need to own, what can be outsource/partnering  

5. Measuring what matters and report regularly so changes can be made?

6. How do we maximise the cash flow of the business? Focus on short term and long-term initiatives to drive improvement in cashflow

7. Revisiting investments to ensure it supports new priorities reviewing investments to ensure it supports new priorities and ensure aligned return on investment.

As a leader in an organisation it’s imperative that you take decisive action to ensure you set up your business for success.  Running scenario analysis and understanding the ‘what if’ are important to understand how you will pivot if something changes.

It’s a chance to relook at priorities, operating model and how you measure success for your business.  It’s the chance to show strong leadership with your organisation and team and ensure it maximise it chance for success.

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Need support in your organisation? Reach out.

Whiteark is not your average consulting firm, we have first-hand experience in delivering transformation programs for private equity and other organisations with a focus on people just as much as financial outcomes.

We understand that execution is the hardest part, and so we roll our sleeves up and work with you to ensure we can deliver the required outcomes for the business. Our co-founders have a combined experience of over 50 years’ working as Executives in organisations delivering outcomes for shareholders. Reach out for a no obligation conversation on how we can help you. Contact us on whiteark@whiteark.com.au

Article by Jo Hands, Co-Founder Whiteark