Last week we shared a few basic ideas for developing a 90-day crisis plan for your small/medium business (Chaordic). This is a time when #XtraMile leadership could make the difference between survival and failure.
State by state, county by county, restrictions are gradually being lifted as the curves begin to flatten. SMB owners what is your plan? How will you know what to do first? Here are a few things we have been working on to help our clients prepare and move.
1. Be ready for action. A great economy props up a lot of mediocre businesses, not all of them will survive. There are already new problems to solve. Soon there will be new clients to assist, and potential new employees to hire. There will be winners and losers. Are you ready?
2. Be Creative. Our research shows that an experienced team with good information will create very accurate solutions for most problems. The more minds and perspectives involved, the better the solutions become. Don’t let physical separation stop you from getting the team together to create. We have been pleasantly surprised how fast our clients and partners have adapted to new technology for meeting and collaborating.
3. Experiment. How can you create low cost probes with your new ideas? Develop the solutions with your team, find a place/customer to test a small sample, improve the idea. Then invest a little more in the solution for the next round of implementation. Measure. Evaluate. Improve. Reproduce.
Leaders have two roles in a crisis, assisting with the bailing (tactical), plus planning the ship’s course when ready (strategic). Balance your attention between the two, as the situation allows, spend more time on the latter.