Reasons to be cheerful
The sun is shining and there is Spring warmth in the air but life in Lockdown Britain is beginning to fray at the edges.
I no longer watch much news on TV as we are in a groundhog day message of ‘stay at home, protect the NHS, save lives’. Sadly the UK still registers the highest death toll in Europe.
The Government tries to square this circle by saying ‘don’t compare us with other countries’. Yet everywhere one looks on-line there is chart after chart showing how each country is dealing with coronavirus.
In a very English scandal, on the same day as we become Europe’s No 1, the newspapers are full of Professor Neil Ferguson, the very person whose advice prompted what seems like a belated lockdown, who has stood down after breaking his own advice to meet his married lover.
From outside the UK looking in, this does not look good. From inside the UK let me assure you it feels worse.
Transparency and honesty from the Government is missing in action and whilst the country waits for some clarity on how the country gets moving again, people and business are filling the vacuum and taking things into their own hand.
It is busier outside with more traffic than a week ago. More people are about. The builders are building again.
Despite the gloom, there are reasons to be cheerful. I have lived in the same road for twenty plus years and there is more of a community spirit than there has ever been. Everywhere, there is a greater sense of warmth, empathy and care for our fellow human beings. Be it the postman, the delivery guy, the checkout person or the security guard manning the entrance to the supermarket. Everyone exchanges waves and hellos to those out on their daily walk. It would be rude not to.
What is going on within Business as it grapples with the ‘new normal’?
It seems that those who were behaving badly towards their employees and customers before the pandemic, are the first to continue to do so when in it.
British Airways has of course excelled itself through announcing 12,000 job cuts whilst at the same time announcing to its customers with future bookings that to apply for a voucher on-line, should it be impossible to fly. No mention of a cash refund which they are legally responsible to give. Nobody at the end of the phone to help.
The very opposite mindset to those who set out to create both a memorable employee experience and a memorable customer experience.
British Airways lost sight of its Company Spirit a long time ago, but what of other more enlightened companies who realise that looking after and nurturing their own Company Spirit is more important than ever. How do they need to behave?
As a ‘best in class’ company. Another reason to be cheerful.
My book, ‘The Business Case for Love’ is now out both as a hardback and e-book. People are buying it, reading it and ‘loving it’. (which is both exciting and a relief!). Whilst written before coronavirus struck I do believe some of the themes discussed give an insights into the current behaviour of our business heroes and villains.
In it I write about the six ‘best in class’ behaviours and how the companies who get bragged about today largely follow each of these behaviours all of the time.
Through continuing to do so I believe these companies will still thrive in the face of Covid-19 as never has it been more important for a company to have a clear set of values, sense of purpose and beliefs than now and a mindset of ‘best in class’ not just best in category.
For those of you who have yet to read the book or who have not worked with me, here are the first three ‘best in class’ behaviours but seen through the eyes of the current crisis.
Coronavirus has turned the volume up to maximum on everything but the principals in my book remain the same!
1.Image and Experience Match
Trust, authenticity and honesty have never been more important. To thrive, not just survive, a company must be true to itself. Say what you do and do what you say. Go the other way and the company will be found out. Customers and employees will not forget. Something that Sir Richard Branson is finding out the hard way.
2. Be constantly inside the heads of your customers
Many companies struggle with this at the best of times, and in our Zoom world this is even more of a challenge. This means truly listening and understanding how people are feeling and what insights can be gained to help the company respond. Don’t forget the best place to start to find out what your customers are thinking is to talk to your employees. They’ll know and they will feel more involved and engaged if you reach out and listen to them. Particularly if they are working from home.
3. Brave yet Disciplined
Always the hardest to achieve. The speed of change is exponential. Time waits for no man and certainly not for the McKinsey report to arrive. Be brave and have the confidence to have new ideas but do it in way which sits comfortably with what your company stands for. I love the way some companies reacted with a fast turn of foot. Our veg box and wine comes from local wholesalers who opened directly to customers. Our fish from Bradley who drives down from Grimsby. Fabulous produce delivered with care and a smile.
My final reason to be cheerful is how companies behave will have to change. Those with toxic cultures have had their last stand. Narcissistic CEO’s driven solely by personal gain will feel unwelcome, out of place and from a different time.
Empathy, care and love for employees and customers will be very much at the forefront of whether a company succeeds or fails post the pandemic.
The business case for love will be more important than ever.
My book is now available both as an e-book and a hardback.
It can be downloaded via #amazon #PalgraveMacmillan and #SpringerNature
?A sample is available on Amazon and a sample of each chapter is available through Palgrave and Springer.
The hardback is also available through Palgrave Macmillan and Springer Nature
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Business-Case-Love-Companies-Bragged/dp/3030364259
https://www.palgrave.com/gb/book/9783030364250
https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-36426-7
