‘Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance’ – Samuel Johnson
How are you doing?
Over the last few days, I have had the opportunity to interact with several different business leaders on how they are making it through (for many) challenging times. These conversations have been diverse, and my eyes are opening to the evolving challenges and emotions that business leaders of different sizes are facing.
Some businesses have almost come to a complete standstill while others are experiencing a significant and consistent drop in their expected results. Tough times make for tough choices, though there is one sentiment that most of these business leaders had – perseverance.
It is especially critical for entrepreneurial leaders to persevere! Perseverance, in this case, means pushing through the storm of a global pandemic, rather than giving in to the uncertainty, difficulty and a wrench thrown deep into the strategic plans previously set up. The current scenario is evolving in stages, and most entrepreneurial leaders are carefully studying the economic effects of the pandemic in different countries and building on those experiences
Business leaders around the world are all facing various challenges with economic downturns but have chosen to focus on resilience and positivity. I learnt that Apple still went ahead and released their latest products!
Nevertheless facing a relatively hard economy is leading to changes from business as usual, and here are two some of these entrepreneurial leaders are responding;
Acceptance and Awareness that Times have Changed
Dealing with the global pandemic is like going through the seven stages of grief, particularly for those who have experienced a significant downturn. The seven states are experience shock and denial, pain and guilt, anger and bargaining, reflection, reconstruction and working through the problems, and finally acceptance. After these past months, it appears that some entrepreneurial leaders are now at the acceptance stage and choosing to focus on dealing with circumstances that they can control and driving towards business stability.
Acceptance also leads to awareness and being mindful of concerns. Leaders who choose to be aware of the situation are better able to make quick decisions and spend less time procrastinating or second-guessing themselves. It is therefore important for leaders need to be assertive and flexible – assertive in making firm decisions in a short time, and flexible enough to amend these decisions if need be as the business environment continues to evolve.
Remain positive
This is something easy to say, though, in reality can be hard to do. A positive outlook affects the way one can take actions. I know a restaurant owner who was among the first to be affected in the face of this pandemic. She had to temporarily close her business as only take out and delivery options were possible. She had a large clientele not just because of the fantastic food she served, but the ambiance of the restaurant was also top notch. After the initial panic, she took a few actions;
- First, she spoke to a life coach to help her manage the feelings of stress and anxiety so that she could manage her team;
- Second, she explored her opportunities by looking beyond the situation and made the quality decision to respond rather than react;
- Third, she saw a new opportunity to reinvent herself and her business by offering customers a weekly menu and delivery. This elevated the minimum spend and created projections to better help her manage her stocks reducing waste and managing cost.
Perseverance in a hard economy requires the entrepreneurial leader to remember one thing. The end goal of your business remains the same – to add value to those you serve; The ultimate goal is beyond financial success and about making real change. In hard times, it is only the journey to get there that changes and not the goal.
How can you change perspective to increase the flexibility of your current operations and meet your goals?