The pandemic and its economic fallout means the outlook for businesses is more uncertain than ever. But are there ways in which your business can not only survive, but thrive as well? These founders and industry experts believe so. Here, they share their key insights …
1. Seek alternative perspectives
“Explore different scenarios about the future and create a portfolio of actions to tackle them,” says Prof Costas Andriopoulos, professor of management and associate dean for entrepreneurship at Cass Business School. He advises asking difficult “what if” questions that challenge assumptions, such as: “If travelling by plane is no longer possible, how will we change the way we do business?”
Bring a variety of stakeholders into the debate. To solve bigger challenges, you’ll need to harness the power of teamwork, according to Bruce Hellman, CEO and co-founder of uMotif, which captures data for clinical trials.
“The big difference for us has been hiring fantastic people who have a ‘startup mindset’: they want to solve problems because of the excitement of building something new,” says Hellman, adding that having a diverse team with different perspectives often leads to better decisions.
2. Make informed decisions, but narrow your options
Don’t delay making tough choices, says Tony Wheeler, who with his wife founded travel publisher Lonely Planet in 1972. “While you’re pausing, things are getting worse,” he says.
One of the most significant decisions he made was to keep producing travel books, even though tourism collapsed after the 2008 financial meltdown. Other publishers pursued different subjects, but Wheeler revised and improved the design and organisation of his titles, so he was well-placed to capture consumer demand when the economy and travel picked up again. Indeed: in 2011, he sold the business to the BBC for a cool £130m.
Spencer Craig, CEO and co-founder of healthy fast-food chain Pure, warns against knee-jerk reactions to turmoil. His revenue dried up in lockdown, but he didn’t permanently close any of his 22 shops, which are located around offices, airports and train stations in London. “I based our business model on long-term trends of how people work, travel and move,” he says. “It’s difficult to say the coronavirus will change all that forever.”
He advises using hard data rather than gut instinct to guide decisions: “The end of September will be six months since the pandemic started and office life will have started to return to normal. This would be the time to consider a long-term strategy change.”
Photograph: Jose Luis Pelaez Inc/Getty Images
3. Be agile
Sometimes a fast shift is required. During Covid-19, TONIC15, a Korean beauty brands retailer, saw much of its B2B sales evaporate. So founder Jin Kwon grew the consumer segment, in part by doubling her Instagram following between March and August, a key sales channel and feedback loop. “I take the time to reply to each individual comment on our Instagram and openly invite consumers to email me or ask for advice,” she says of the strong growth in followers. One customer suggested launching a gift set to mark the Islamic holiday Eid al-Fitr: Kwon did, and it was well received by the Muslim beauty community.
“Quick, but considered decisions often save time and money further down the line,” she says.
To be agile, consider the company’s structure. Zamir Cajee, founder of electronics e-retailer iQualTech, overhauled his global supply chain, making it more resilient to disruption after Covid-19 caused bottlenecks and raised import costs.
Cajee now takes smaller, more frequent orders with suppliers and holds more stock in a wider range of locations in case manufacturers have to scale down operations again. “We have adopted a guerrilla mentality,” he says. “Being small and flexible is an advantage.”
4. Be open
Whether you stick or twist, communication will be crucial in leading your business through change. “It takes guts to stick your neck out when nobody knows what is around the corner, but it demonstrates leadership,” says Rob Jupp, CEO of Brightstar, which provides specialist financing.
He was able to help curb coronavirus anxiety among his staff by publishing a weekly vlog with updates on the latest developments in the market, keeping the team in touch and informed through lockdown.
5. Embrace change
Ana Bakshi, director of Oxford Foundry – the University of Oxford’s entrepreneurship centre – insists that despite the uncertainty, companies can turn a crisis to their advantage. “Accept the new reality, but also frame it as a chance to introspect, refresh, reprioritise, consolidate and seize new opportunities,” she says.
While no one can predict the future in a fragile post-pandemic world, businesses can at least become comfortable with ambiguity through a blueprint for leadership in uncertain times.
The essential steps are to forecast and plan for contingencies with a team, keep up communication, take feedback and be decisive through data.
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