How to Survive & Thrive: 10 Strategies to help you through challenging times.

Over the next 10 weeks, I will be publishing a series of 'strategies' to help you quickly learn to pivot and adjust your business practices to meet the market needs, and changing conditions during economic downturns. The practical and actionable information is designed to help your business succeed even in the most challenging of times.

We outline the steps businesses should take during an economic crisis to not only survive, but to come out of the crisis a stronger and more robust entity. Following these 10 strategies will provide you a solid foundation to ensure that your current and future businesses remain vital and succeed.

Strategy 1: Communication is Key

During a crisis, communication is key. You must increase your communication cadence and improve your messaging to improve results. We believe that “True communication is the response you get”. To get better results you have to do better communication. You must focus on the tone and content of your communication, and extend the circle of who you communicate with regularly. As an effective business leader, you need to step up now.

“When it comes to crisis communications, if you always focus on building a relationship with your customers, fans and followers, you will always find yourself communicating in the right direction.” – Melissa Agnes

You must start with your team. Your employees and staff need to hear from you at least daily. You need to keep your team informed and they must feel safe and taken care of...They will look to you for direction, guidance and security. You must increase your communication with your suppliers, your landlord, your community, your family and your customers. The lack of information and communication leads to negative feelings and thoughts which propel negative attitudes and actions.

To ensure that your communication is most effective keep the following in mind...

• Be Sensitive - careful and thoughtful communication; now is the time to be empathetic and careful with your messaging so you don’t come off sounding insensitive and out of touch.
• Demonstrate Leadership - model the behaviour you want others to follow.
• Be Positive - be passionate and upbeat, there is enough bad news, don’t add to it.
• Use Technology - use multiple employee mediums and channels to spread the word, don’t rely on one method to get messaging to all stakeholders consistently.
• Be Focused - keep people focused on your vision and your mission, keep them on task and on course.

If you aren’t comfortable presenting or speaking to a group, it’s time to power up your skills. You don’t have to be slick or over formal or perfectly polished. Focus on being authentic. It’s vital during a crisis, that as a leader you ensure safety and security are always top of mind. Use our Crisis Communication Tip Sheet to make sure your communication process is solid.

Get comfortable with technology. Whether it is Zoom, GoToWebinar, Facebook Live or other telecommunication platforms, now is the time to be visible and active. Another tool available is the ActionCOACH Digital meeting checklist.

Remember...

• Panic and Worry Never Helps
• Look for Small Wins Every Hour
• Sometimes Less News is Better, not Less Communication
• Lead Your People

Staying in the Game

Physical and mental health need to be maintained during a time of crisis and it is very important that you keep yourself healthy. Exercise, eating healthy and drinking plenty of water to stay hydrated are basic but important ways to stay in the game.

Keeping mentally strong is a challenge during any crisis, but when isolation is part of the working conditions, it may be hard to fend off depression and a sense of fear. To remain focused, keep going, don’t get sucked into the negative vortex; find ways to unplug and participate in positive behaviour to keep you in the right mental space. Meditation, reading, painting, playing an instrument can give you an outlet for your stress.

“You never know when a moment and a few sincere words can have an impact on a life.” –Zig Ziglar

Don’t forget to check on your team and be mindful of how people are coping. Human connection in a virtual world is important. Remember to call friends, family and check in. Make sure you keep humanity, compassion and kindness alive during this crisis. There is no better medicine than a smile, a kind gesture to make someone’s day. Now is the best time to spread hope, not fear.

I hope you found this article useful, and have some actionable tips to implement in your business today. Next week's strategy is 'Changing your business model' - find out how to pivot quickly when markets change, and learn how the formula for change works.

Please leave me a comment if you have any challenges you would like to be covered, in this series of articles.