The Best of times, the Worst of times

COVID can seem to be an unremitting stream of misery. That’s true, but also false. As Charles Dickens wrote in, A Tale of Two Cities, I believe for business today, it is ‘The best of times, the Worst of times’.

How so?

The worst of times is indisputable. According to the World Health Organisation, as at 16 July, Coronavirus has killed 578,110 people. It has plunged the world into recession likely to rival the 1930s and post-war years. Millions of people have and will lose their jobs. 

This is terrible. We would all prefer that 2020 had taken a very different trajectory. But it did not. 

As ‘they’ (irritatingly) say, “We are where we are”. 

The challenge is for all of us is to make the most of this new situation.

The best of times

This is where we come to ‘the best of times’. I argue that we have experienced ‘five years of change in five weeks’. It’s a cute phrase that still feels about right. And when we think about it, this accelerated change has created an extraordinary learning and growth opportunity for our businesses.

Necessity is the mother of invention

I recently ran my monthly Business Mastermind Day. I facilitate a group of small business owners, operating in different sectors, who come together to work on their business and personal growth. 

I was struck by how much innovation and change each leader has made over the last few months. 

The phrase, ‘Necessity is the mother of invention’ has never been more pertinent. In response to the real or anticipated consequences of COVID, lockdowns et al., every owner has been forced to address issues they have overlooked or not got around to. 

Cost-reduction

Big-ticket items like office rents and travel costs, but also the ‘small stuff’ like software subscriptions, publications, even email addresses that are no longer needed.

People

Most leaders struggle with tough conversations around staff under-performance. This changes when owners have to question the survival of their business. 

Some great staff have and will, sadly, lose their jobs in this crisis. Others though have not been doing the right thing or demonstrating the right attitude. In the Mastermind, we discussed several examples of this – and the owner’s new resolve to finally deal – fairly and appropriately – with under-performers who could no longer be afforded.

The results of this ‘enforced’ clear thinking and decisiveness? Most of the businesses have increased their profitability across the last quarter – even when revenues have fallen.

Human nature rules

So tight cost-control and making sure we employ only the right people goes a very long way. That is obvious. It also says a lot about human nature. 

When times are good, we are happy to overlook a multitude of business sins. When our survival is threatened, we find the resolve to make the tough calls – surprising ourselves along the way at just how much fat and slack we have allowed to creep in.

Innovation

Beyond belt-tightening, the most exciting phase of the last few months has been the enforced innovation. 

When your market closes or disappears, you have to adapt. My favourite local pub (take a bow, Four Pines, Newport) did a brilliant job of pivoting to offer a home-delivered 6-pack and gourmet burger. It has been a massive success, kept the till ringing, the brand top-of-mind and staff employed. It has also become an ongoing part of the business.

One of my Mastermind clients had to tender for what she historically had seen as a small part of her business. It was the only part not closed down by COVID restrictions. She was worried about losing everything. 

After three weeks of hard work, research and deep reflection for the tender, she now sees this is the best part of her business. There is the potential for a national rollout. She is not even worried about the tender result. 

Such is the power of trying new things, asking new questions and having a crack. I am confident that every single business in my Mastermind Group will be in better shape in 2021 than they would have been if COVID had not happened.

Hope springs eternal

I hope that this article lands well with you. I reiterate, COVID is awful and regrettable. But it has enforced a fascinating business renaissance. As humans, we are always somewhere between the poles of despair and hope. Things are never as bad or as good as they seem.

Dickens says it best.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us”

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