Let me start by saying that I’m a business owner and I hate the Coronavirus.
I hate that people are sick and dying. I hate that businesses are closing and hardworking people are out of a job. I hate that the hospitals are stretched thin and healthcare workers are exhausted and under-appreciated. I hate that kids’ education is suffering and I hate that human interaction - already endangered - may never be the same again.
We all have a lot to hate about the Coronavirus crisis.
There are a zillion posts about that. This one, just for a moment, is going to look at the silver lining. Three silver linings, in fact.
1. You are Being Given a Clean Slate and Fresh Opportunity.
Change is hard. I get it. Especially if that change involves other people - people who are stubborn, disengaged, or stuck in their ways. Unfortunately, in business - as well as in life - it’s adapt or die.
As a professional speaker and business coach, I’m not paid to give information. I’m paid to facilitate change. I’m paid to help leaders and teams to adopt new skills for a changing landscape. I’ve walked organizations through the process of creating positive change over and over again. I’ve studied extensively the psychology of influence and behavior change. I’ve learned the cruel truth…
Change is necessary to survive, but your brain is hard wired to avoid it.
From your brain’s point of view, you’re alive. You’ve survived. Whatever you’re doing must be working. Any external change is therefore a potential threat to your survival. So we avoid it.
I’ve also learned how to overcome that cruel truth.
There’s only one way…
Make the pain of staying the same worse than the pain of change.
There are many techniques I might use in the context of a speech or an online training to show their brains that the riskiest thing to do is NOT change. Because, as we’ve learned, none of us wants to change unless we have to. Well guess what? NOW WE HAVE TO. And you know what I say about that?
GOOD!
Been wanting to enter a new market or launch a new product or service? Boom. Clean slate and fresh opportunity. Been wanting to become more assertive at work? Boom. Clean slate and fresh opportunity. Been meaning to revamp some of your companies policies and procedures in order to create more connection among your employees? Boom. Clean slate and fresh opportunity. Might as well do it now while EVERYTHING else is changing. The Band-Aid is being ripped off for everyone.
New world, new you.
It’s not that we HAVE to change. It’s that we GET to change.
2. Since You’re not Working IN Your Company, You Can Work ON Your Company.
We’ve slowed down.
School is out. Workplaces have shut down. Events and gatherings of all kinds are cancelled. Projects are on hold. Annoying clients aren’t in the office (and therefore not in our inbox.) What are we going to do with all this time?
As a natural resource, you can’t top time. As business owners, the demands on our time are approaching infinity, but the supply is extremely limited - with no ability to make more. That ratio makes it the most valuable commodity on the planet.
What a gift.
I see people making art again. I see people learning guitar. I see people reconnecting with nature, their pets, and their children. Sure, there are Netflix binges and video game marathons mixed in, but we’re also meditating more, exercising more, loving more, and learning more. We’re building things, fixing things, reading things, and doing things that we’ve always wanted to do.
Instead of connecting on a surface level with many, we are connecting on a deep level with a few. The few who matter. The few who we WANT to be quarantined with - and who want to be quarantined with us.
Is any of that business-related?
Absolutely.
We are recharging on a global scale.
And when we do work, we’re not in the thick of it. We’re not running around, putting out fires, or meeting deadlines. Instead of working in our businesses, we now have some freedom to work ON our businesses. The short-term has been taken away from us, allowing us to focus on the long-term (which is where all the best stuff in life is hiding.)
You can’t foresee the future, but you can “4C” the present. You can’t go wrong as an individual or as an organization if you take this time to work on the following four “C’s.”
Competencies - What skills can you develop? What areas can you learn about? What verticals can you immerse yourself in? This is a great time to sharpen your saw.
Connections - We’re all in this together. We are all having a shared experience. Take this opportunity to reach out to new connections, or to existing connections you may have neglected. This includes your employees, boss, co-workers, strategic partnerships, old friends, customers, and prospective clients. You’ll never regret a deposit into a relationship bank account. Reach out. Check in. Connect. Click here for a great way to make consistent connections.
Content - What better time to develop new products and new services? What better time to create and release that new video, article, or podcast episode? What better time to get consistent with your social media output? Just be sure that your goal is service and not self-promotion.
Character - A crisis reveals character, but it can also build it. Hashing out the fluffy stuff like “company values” or “ethics standards” aren’t often prioritized. But now, there’s not only more time to do it, there’s also more urgency. When people are scared, they sometimes act in ways they normally wouldn’t. A strong character-based leadership team, leading by example is needed now more than ever.
At the end of the day, it’s easier for others to invest in you when you’ve invested in your competencies, connections, content, and character.
3. This is Ushering in a New, “Caring Economy.”
The age of corporate greed may finally be coming to an end. In order to survive - not only this season of crisis, but also in the new world that it will create - we must focus on more than just money. When money was THE “bottom line,” anything that got you there was fair game. We saw laws broken, rights violated, natural resources plundered, weaknesses exploited, jobs replaced, and the wealth gap widen - all in the name of profit. But, this is a capitalist society. What choice do we have?
Choice.
That’s the key.
Capitalism is so ingrained in us that we sometimes forget. Capitalism wasn’t inevitable. We chose it during a time when it most served us. The world can also choose to change the rules.
Maybe we already have.
In 1994, John Elkington coined the term, “Triple Bottom Line.” He predicted that the success of a company would be measured by three bottom lines, not one - People, Planet, and Profit. To a degree, he was right. The digital revolution has brought us more options, more information, and more transparency than ever before. You do something. We notice. Many people aren’t buying products that destroy the planet, and many people aren’t working at companies that don’t put people first. Scandals are going viral and social influence can step in and overtake even your best, most expensive PR and marketing campaigns at the drop of a tweet. The marketplace has slowly forced companies into a corner of caring. Now, the Coronavirus is swooping in to remove any stragglers still holding profit as their highest priority. You know what I say?
GOOD!
With less pressure to hit quarterly numbers (almost NOBODY is hitting their numbers this quarter), there is freedom to focus on long-term strategies. Not just freedom, but urgency. An urgency for long-term strategies? That’s not something you see every day. Futurists (like Gerd Leonard) are now describing a “Quadruple Bottom Line” consisting of People, Planet, Purpose, and Prosperity. Even if all you care about is Prosperity, the other bottom lines are now the clearest path to get you there.
People - “Company culture” has become a buzz word - and rightly so. We know that not only is top talent attracted to companies with strong cultures, but mediocre talent also BECOMES top talent when working in the context of a solid culture. There are different definitions of great workplace culture and different strategies to achieve it, but one thing is agreed upon by most. Working for a great company feels like being part of a family.
While some companies are laying off or furloughing huge percentages of their workforce, others are holding ever stronger to their principle of “people first.” I’ve heard about owners who haven’t been taking any salary for months. I’ve heard about leaders who are forgoing their bonuses. I’ve heard about co-workers agreeing to pay cuts. And I’ve heard about companies happy to go into debt in order to make payroll. It’s not even a question. Better that many should sacrifice little, than any should sacrifice all.
Would a family ever kick out one of its members when times get tough?
Highly unlikely. (Although it does seem like a great option during the teenage years - or during weeks of shelter-in-place.)
Instead, most families bond closer together through struggle and tragedy.
Show that you’ve got your employee’s backs, and they’ll show that they have yours. A team divided cannot stand.
Planet - Nothing is more insulting than a “yo momma” joke. Customers don’t appreciate when companies hurt their Mother Earth. You see it when they take their business elsewhere, when they boycott, and even when they practice “responsible investing.” More and more, investors are being shamed into moving their funds away from companies who don’t have a sustainable model.
Whether you call it “going green,” “reducing your carbon footprint,” or “sustainability,” the basic idea is simple. Take care of your Mother and the market will take care of you. Alina Chircu of Bentley University states it simply, “More and more companies are realizing that designing sustainable products, processes, and value chains makes business sense.”
Now consider this. With everybody staying home during the Coronavirus crisis, pollution has been reduced significantly. In many ways, it’s been a global experiment of sorts, giving us a small glimpse of a cleaner Earth. Some companies will rush to go right back to their old ways. Others will learn from this “experiment” and seek out ways to keep some of the positive changes long-term (sustainably.) Either way, your customers will be watching.
A sustainable approach will not only ensure a longer shelf-life for your company, but it will also make you more competitive in today’s marketplace.
Purpose - “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.” Simon Sinek’s TEDx talk and #1 bestselling book, “Start With Why” became popular for a reason. Now, more than ever, we need your company to have a purpose that serves us more than it serves your own profits. The Coronavirus has knocked us from the top tier of Maslow’s hierarchy, back down to survival base camp. We’ve gone from planning vacations to jobless and worrying about whether we’ll have basic necessities like food (and toilet paper.) Mr. Rogers told us to look for the helpers during scary times. We’re looking for the helpers. Those who sell will be ignored. Those who serve will be noticed.
Business owners, freelancers, and everyone else, take this “impractical” and “unrealistic” advice now and into the future…
Don't worry so much about money right now. Worry about helping your customers through this tough time. Do that, and the money will come. One way or another, it will come.
Prosperity - When the economy takes a hit like this, people don’t stop spending. They simply spend less. The money doesn’t disappear, it moves. That is why this is a time of opportunity. That is why some individuals and some companies always seem to find a way to position themselves in front of that opportunity. Fortunes have been made in every economic crisis.
The key to positioning yourself for prosperity in the new caring economy is to get the other three P’s right - People, Planet, and Purpose. Prosperity isn’t the target, it’s the result of hitting your targets.
Join my email list to be first in line when I announce my next virtual training course, The Future of Working Together: 7 Non-Obvious Traits of Top Teams. It’ll help you get the “people” part right.
Please like and share if you HATE the Coronavirus and the crisis we find ourselves in - but also recognize that the changes in the world can create chances for positive outcomes. Right now, the world needs some realistic optimism. Please pass it along.