Please don't cruise control

March 2020, a time not so long ago. 

Countries were closing their borders, restaurants/bars were closing their doors. 

Supermarkets were restricting purchases, police were restricting movement.

Covid-19 was not brand new to the world, but things certainly started to feel real for many of us. 

I walked to my local supermarket, and the shelves were wiped clean. Eggs, Flour and Toilet Paper were a myth. These are the scenarios many of us experienced around the country and the entire world, and it felt like scenes straight out of a blockbuster film. I remember opening up the BBC News app sometime towards the end of the March, and seeing the words “MARKET CRASH”. 

The world was reacting, and panic was in abundance.

So here I was, along with every other business owner/employee around the world, facing the most globally unprecedented event in over a century. No one could have predicted what took place in the world this year, and we were all reactive in our approaches when news struck.

However, many months on from March, and we’re now starting to truly see the effects that this pandemic has had on this world. Certain core industries are feeling severe effects. In some cases though, I believe that they are now being forced to wake up and smell the coffee.  

Whilst Covid-19 ultimately led to the difficulties we are witnessing in industries such as retail and travel, I see the pandemic acting as more of a catalyst rather than the sole cause. It was a catalyst in the downfall of some businesses that had been working for years in what I label “cruise control”. 

Let’s take retail for example. Online retail has been developing for more than two decades, yet many traditional retailers were still treating online as an add-on that they offered. It made them look “digital” and “modern”, but was it a core part of their strategy? Not really. Why should it be? Offline sales were their bread and butter for years before the internet was even a word in the dictionary. 

These retailers were on cruise control and had been for a long time. Reacting to situations was in their DNA and they’d ignored many signals to proactively prepare for the future. So when the pandemic struck, industries such as retail struggled to adapt quickly.

So how do you take control? How do you be proactive?

A proactive business is one that tends to anticipate changes/trends, plan for them and take action. It’s about paying attention to trends and adapting before your competitors even realise. 

In reality, no person or business can be proactive all the time, but adopting a proactive culture and mindset can make you more effective in dealing and overcoming adversity in the future. 

So how do you do it? Well, it does take some work! It’s something I try to engrain into my mindset regularly. At World Products, I often describe it to my team and our clients as beings “ahead of the curve”. 

Whilst I don’t expect in any way to shift entire company cultures by writing this article on LinkedIn, here are my tips on how you individually can manifest a proactive mindset in your career.

 Here are my top 5 tips:

• Work on important projects, and not just those that need your urgent attention.
• Ask for regular feedback from your colleagues and clients on your work and what can be improved.
• Get some thinking space. Distancing yourself occasionally from your daily task.
• Read up and be engaged with your industry and beyond. Understand where things are going as a whole, and be attentive to changes even if they don’t affect you immediately.
• Finally, my favourite. Ask questions all the time, and don't just look for answers you want to hear. Your clients and colleagues won't always let you know if something isn't right. Go out and find out.