Success in a Pandemic A COVID-19 response mantra in five words by: Jim Kahrs, Prosperity Plus
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n March of this year, our world changed in a way that no one could have predicted. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced businesses to transform themselves on an almost constant basis. We have learned terms we would have been happier not knowing: social distancing, shelter-in-place, personal protective equipment, herd immunity, contact tracing, Economic Injury Disaster Loan, Paycheck Protection Program and the list goes on. As we get further acclimated to this new jargon that drives much of what we do, I’d like to submit a few more terms that can make a huge difference to the future of your business. Agile (adjective): Able to move quickly and easily. Able to think and understand quickly. Now, more than ever, your business must be agile. I can’t recall a time when things changed so broadly, so quickly. The rules of personal interaction have changed daily. We don’t have the luxury of time to sit back and contemplate future direction. By way of example, here in New York, businesses were shut down overnight. We had to figure out how to operate remotely in a matter of hours. Later, the Paycheck Protection Program was announced and the first wave of funds ran out in less than a week. Each of these was a test of business agility. There will be more tests of your agility going forward. There are predictions of a significant shift from cities to suburbs. If you’re based in a large city you need to be ready to react quickly to these trends. It may mean expanding territory or developing new vertical markets. There is a big push to shop locally. How quickly can you mobilize a plan to market your local presence? There will be governmental requirements changing in the coming months. Could there be more business shutdowns, requirements for better tracing of employee contacts, additional training or certification requirements? Will customers request things you’ve never considered before? Will customers go out of business or downsize? You’ll need to be ready to turn on a dime to meet new challenges as they arise. What happens if one of your employees or a customer contracts the virus? You’ll need to be agile to respond quickly and decisively to keep the business on track while protecting your 18 | w ww. o f f ic et ec hno lo g ym a g. c o m | Aug ust 2 0 2 0
staff, your customers and their families. Will there be good, talented employees available during these times? You’ll need to be agile enough to react quickly to hire strong people. Nervous candidates will likely jump at the first good opportunity presented. A slow, lumbering recruiting process will lose good candidates. Flexible (adjective): Capable of bending easily without breaking. Able to change readily to meet new circumstances. Every business out there has had its flexibility tested to one degree or another. We have clients who have been challenged with employees who can’t get childcare. They needed to be flexible in how they allowed employees to work. Though it wasn’t always ideal, it did allow them to bend without breaking. As face-to-face meetings were not possible, we had to be flexible and use video meetings, conference calls, etc. This was the only way to get in front of customers or to have sales meetings. Some companies did break, in that they did not find a solution and simply stopped doing these vital meetings.
