Tag Archives: success

How does business recover from CV19? – What they are saying

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A common theme I am reading for any business trying to phoenix back from corona virus is the relationship between the business leaders/owners and the staff. Many are saying the future for companies will be based on the trust between the employer and the employees. It will be this trust that will enable companies to source knowledge and ideas that will either differentiate them from their competitors or allow the company to improve its ROE (return on effort). Having a few good ideas will no longer cut it as many of these will be based on pre-covid-19 virus (CV19) models. Ideas will need to be uninhibited, dynamic and rapid. The “I know best” attitude will become the antithesis to gaining ground after the CV19 period, it will probably even be before that.

Another theme is to use this change in business dynamics and market to take or even make your own opportunities. Business will not be the same as it was, for a multitude of reasons, so waiting to see what happens will be a bad decision> some businesses are now in survival mode, they are in their death throws and there may be nothing they can do if they stay the same. It will not be a case of jumping on the band wagon and make masks, or hand sanitiser. Yes, they were good ideas at the time but after CV19 is gone something else needs to take its place.

And many are talking of the change in relationships, people will begin to be more aware of others, to help and to care what happens in their community (at least a lot more than before CV19). There is also a lot of conversations at all levels – including Govt – about the need to acknowledge those who actually carry and hold up the economic and social world we live in, the nurses, the teachers, the supply chain people as well as the emergency service personnel – all those who have been typically paid the least. It behoves humanity to look after all those who add so much value for so little compensation.

More, very valid and informative information and articles have been written. I have found the following great, some have been enlightening:

After coronavirus: ‘We can’t go back to business as usual’  https://www.theguardian.com/money/2020/apr/04/coronavirus-business-finance-work-property

Why companies need a role-based model in the Covid-19 paradigm
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/jobs/why-companies-need-a-role-based-model-in-the-covid-19-paradigm/articleshow/75139253.cms

How To Reinvent Your Business To Thrive After The Coronavirus https://www.forbes.com/sites/tedladd/2020/03/26/how-to-reinvent-your-business-to-thrive-after-corona/#6b0675e043e2

How the Coronavirus Is Already Rewriting the Future of Business
https://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/how-the-coronavirus-is-already-rewriting-the-future-of-business

COVID-19: Implications for business
 https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/risk/our-insights/covid-19-implications-for-business

Coronavirus: your guide to winners and losers in the business world
https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-your-guide-to-winners-and-losers-in-the-business-world-134205

Finding the Hidden Business Opportunities Around the Coronavirus Pandemic
https://www.inc.com/david-finkel/finding-hidden-business-opportunities-around-coronavirus-pandemic.html

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Innovation – Fueled by failure, driven by success.

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I am currently reading a book called “Innovation – the Attacker’s Advantage” by Richard Foster, although written and purchased a while ago (1980’s), it is still very interesting reading now that we can  travel back to the future, and still pertinent.

Another very good article on Innovation is from Stanford Graduate School of Business on why failure is considered a good thing:  Why Failure Drives Innovation.

My personal observations are that people of Mind set-1 (see Why Failure Drives Innovation)  rely on systems and procedures to improve what they have in an attempt to continue the success they once had.  Yes the tools such as 5S and six sigma and TQM and Lean and …..etc,   all add value to the process of improving quality and  reducing costs.

But it is the innovators, those that Baba Shiv calls Mind set-2, who are the ones that bring real success.   Improving what you have to the Nth degree is all fine and good and does save plenty of pennies. But this is neither sustainable nor effective in the long run – refer to Richard Foster’s  S-Curve pertaining to Performance vs Effort (funds).

Take land transport:  although humans have used the horse and donkey for a long time it was not until the invention of the wheel around 4,000-3,500 years ago when things really got moving, especially with the advent of the cart and chariot around 3,500 years ago.  But things remained slow for a couple of millennium, yes they improved the carts and wagons but they were still limited by the technology of the time. Then came steam during the 18th century and mass transportation began, people and goods being moved all over the country – but restricted to the rail corridor.  The next leap forward was the invention of the internal combustion engine by an innovator called Jean Joseph Etienne Lenoir – although the automobile was not patented until 1890’s.  And now, we have car  companies improving the effectiveness, efficiency and aesthetics of the automobile but they are still pretty much the same.  The next leap forward is the introduction of the electric car and levitating train.

As you can see, the periods between innovation are getting shorter. But innovation is at all levels, in all industries and in all countries, it is the Innovators who are making the jump, building the bridges to the future, the rest follow, some with eagerness while some dragged and screaming and the rest blindly.

Me, well I can’t wait for the strap-on, Personal Anti-gravity Commuter vehicle. Now that’s a back-pac!