Crisis Planning & the Coronavirus - What to Do & How!

As of 11 March, 2020, the Coronavirus is in 120 countries and territories, has infected over 120,000 people and resulted in over 4,300 deaths. It has been declared a Global Pandemic – the worldwide spread of a new disease - and the virus has found a foothold on every continent except for Antarctica.

Countries are in lockdown, governments are releasing substantial funds to address the outbreak, and the social and business impact is immense. People are unable to gather, sporting events are cancelled, some businesses have already gone under, and fear is driving panic-buying.

DON’T PANIC

Many people and businesses are panicking. Don’t! Now, especially, is the time to step back, look at what is happening and understand how it is affecting you, your business, and those who you do business with (or who your business affects) both directly and indirectly.

The Coronavirus represents a massive change, globally, in terms of how it is affecting the world economically, politically, socially and commercially.

It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change – Charles Darwin

To survive, and even thrive, you need to adapt and change. And to do this there are 3 things you need to do – Plan, Implement & Pivot.

1.      Plan - put together contingency plans for possible future scenarios

2.      Implement - identify the key actions you need to take, and take them

3.      Pivot - regularly review how your situation is changing, adapt your plan, and then pivot as you need

This crisis, if handled well, provides you with an opportunity to build a better, stronger and more resilient business – and to continue when others who panic fail to run the distance.

How is the Coronavirus Crisis affecting you and your business?

Are you feeling that things are suddenly out of control, like being in a freeway pile up? And that your vision and plan is no longer working? It’s all come out of left-field, unexpected, and you’re not sure what to do or where to go as the landscape around you has changed? So, you end up firefighting in order to try and salvage your business and career, and to avoid being forced out of business.

Not only is it affecting you, but it’s impacting your customers, suppliers, business partners & employees – and theirs in turn! The effects of the Coronavirus can be seen and felt in a variety of ways including, but not limited to:

• the supply of raw materials and key components being interrupted,
• this potentially leading to production being interrupted (with even some businesses temporarily closing)
• and staff having to work from home (or being self-isolating) or being told to take leave or risk being retrenched
• reduced consumer demand and confidence; potential shortages with panic buying
• lower sales with less being bought, or purchases being pushed out
• lower revenue and lower profit
• reduced cash in-flows/revenues whilst outgoing cash-flows/expenses continue or even escalate with shortages
• increase risk of businesses who fail to adapt being marginalised, losing to the competition or going out of business.

The Coronavirus Crisis is extremely challenging as you face circumstances out of your control coupled with the uncertainty of what lies ahead. 

BUT IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY!

As the boxer-philosopher Mike Tyson said, “Plans go to hell when you get punched in the mouth!”

So, if you know you’re going to get punched you need to know how to avoid the punch, roll with it, or use its momentum to your advantage.

In short, you NEED a Crisis Plan NOW.

A Crisis Plan helps you to respond quickly and effectively to unexpected changes, and to develop potential scenarios so that you can continue to pre-empt and proactively adapt to changes. It allows you to pivot quickly, and move your people, resources, time and money to where it is best used and to capture opportunities ahead of the competition as your business environment continues to change.

You build a more resilient and robust business that can come out stronger and better positioned than before.

The longer you take to develop and implement a Crisis Plan the larger the gap you will experience - with the downside increasing and the potential upside diminishing. And, if you don’t plan and take action, then you and your business could fail despite all your hard work and best efforts.

The Crisis Planning for the Coronavirus Workshop:

In this workshop you:

• Gain clarity around the current situation and insights into how it is affecting you
• Update your existing plan with insights from identified challenges/concerns & opportunities so you can get a clear direction on where you now need to go, and focus and allocate your time, people and resources in the most effective way in doing so
• Develop 3 scenarios (Low, Medium and High severity) where you can create strategies and actions that will bridge the gap and test them. This allows you to have a plan for the future in case the crisis escalates with the potential for major impact on the sustainability of your business.
• Develop profit and cash-flow improvement strategies, growth strategies and risk assessments to help you mitigate risks and capture opportunities
• Create a Crisis Plan that addresses all 3 scenarios that you can take and implement immediately
• Create a 90-day Project Plan to implement
• PLUS access implementation support via facilitated online group coaching sessions held every fortnight for 3 months – these allow you to adapt and update your plan and keep current with changes in the Coronavirus Crisis and your situation. It also allows you to share with and gain from the ideas, insights and experiences of the group.

The Crisis Planning process allows you to control the controllables, turn issues into opportunities and survive challenging times.

NEXT STEPS:

If you are interested in attending the next public half-day workshop (currently scheduled from 0830 to 1230 on Wednesday, 18 March) or to find out other dates, or if you’d like a private workshop for your business and leadership team, then call Andrew Cooke of Growth & Profit Solutions on +61 (0)401 842 673 or email [email protected]

Details:

Date/Time: Wednesday, 18 March – 8am Registration for 8:30am start. Finishes 1230pm.

Location: St. Martins Centre Conference Suite, Level 9/40 St. Georges Terrace, Perth

Spaces are limited and will go fast! Book now to avoid being disappointed.

Investment for Workshop & 3-Month Online Group Coaching Support: $895 (inc GST).

• If you are booking for 2 or more people together the second person onwards is $729 per person (inc GST).
• Please note multiple people on one booking cannot be invoiced separately. Please nominate the payer and supply their details including name, company, address, email and telephone number. Invoices for the amount will be immediately sent.
• Please pay for your ticket in advance of the event.

Trust you find this useful, and feel free to share it with anyone else you feel may find it of value or benefit.

PS – If you want a quick insight into “Crisis Planning for the Coronavirus” then click here (https://vimeo.com/396835888) to watch a short webinar by Andrew.