Threat or Opportunity? You Decide

We are, indeed, living in interesting times. It is hard to believe that what might have seemed a simple interaction between animals has led to the shutting down of significant areas of the planet. Never underestimate nature. And yet there is one thing that has had a viral impact on the human race that is more powerful than COVID-19, and that is our mindset, or our mood.

When we are surrounded by news and press releases and emails, and the re-release of Steven Soderbergh’s movie “Contagion,” there is an almost inevitable trend towards adopting the mindset of those around us.

As individuals and as organisations, we generally cycle through three stages:

• Thrive
• Revive
• Survive

When times are good, and circumstances are more stable, we are inclined to move from a Revive mode to a Thrive mode, where demand is high, reputation is good, appreciation and understanding are solid, and new initiatives are encouraged.

During those inevitable times when demand drops, and there is no clear understanding of the value you can offer, as an individual or as an organisation, we can quickly move into the Survive mode. When we are here, we are looking for stability. We crave information and we keep a tight hold on our worldview. We are looking for what is familiar. We seek safety. The scenarios we face align very much with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

Vendors need to understand the shift in customer mindset. It is highly likely that the desire to explore new capabilities and understand how they can contribute to an evolved future state, is diminished when facing the Survive scenario. In extreme situations of economic uncertainty, needs become very basic:

• Keep the company afloat
• Retain jobs
• Retain customers
• Maintain cash flow

The knee-jerk reaction is to batten down the hatches and ride out the storm. For some companies this might be the best course of action; for others, extreme situations can be embraced as opportunities. This is where we might move from a Survive mode to a Revive situation. It is those who can take this step, who can adapt and prevail in extreme situations, who are most likely to achieve Thrive status sooner.

Vendors need to review these simple guidelines in order to:

• Understand their current customer mood
• Appreciate what their customer needs to achieve in the short term
• Advise their customer on what they can be doing to do more than just Survive (if this is an option)
• Develop a vision with the customer of what the medium-term landscape looks like

Example – Short Term:  In the short term, customers are looking for ways to support employees working from home. In many cases, those employees have never worked from home before. They might not be fully set-up with a laptop, a decent internet connection, a desk and an office chair. And the discipline required to work from home is far from universal. There is absolutely no doubt that there are those who perform best in an office environment, surrounded by colleagues, immersed in a physical world of work. How do companies retain levels of productivity amongst office workers who are now isolated to their spare bedroom?

Example – Medium Term:  Many companies are being negatively impacted. Office shut-downs, employees working from home, the introduction of new ways to work, loss of revenue, raised cost of raw materials; it all adds up to a cost that will land on the desk of a financial executive at some point. And when that happens, that executive is going to advise that savings need to be made for the company to remain stable (Survive). Even more savings will need to be made for the company to Revive, and more investment for the company to Thrive.  How can vendors help their customers plan for those savings now? How can vendors introduce capabilities that might allow customers to save in one area and reinvest those savings in another area?

These are the conversations that are valid now. They go beyond vendors simply trying to sell a product, and they hit at the heart of helping companies exit their Survival mode and regain Revive and Thrive status.

In times such as these, people seek clear direction, sometimes to the point of micro-management. Our mental capacity is suddenly taken-up with new information, new concerns, and the biggest drain on the ability to think clearly; uncertainty. One of the biggest impacts on efficiency and smart decision-making is “not knowing.” As humans, we can deal with pretty much anything as long as we know what we are dealing with. When we are uncertain, we need more, clear direction to ensure we remain focused and on-track with the bigger picture. What should your customer or your team be focused on today? This week? How will their actions impact the situations being faced? What is the new value that they should be focused on delivering? Helping customers and teams to have these conversations and think in this way will accelerate stability and lay the foundations for a faster recovery.

Leaders at all levels need to devote more time to more regular communication. And this needs to be multi-way communication – listening as well as delivering. This applies to our teams as well as our customers. If a customer contacts us to tell us that they are putting a high-profile project on hold, let’s empathise. Let’s take this as an opportunity to remind them of all the good reasons why the project was launched in the first place. Let’s invest time in understanding why they have shifted their thinking and discuss how their immediate goals have changed. The customer is facing rapidly evolving circumstances. Those vendors and partners that can move with the customer are most likely to retain the customer’s attention and commitment.

On an individual level, we need to be aware of the value we each bring. Have we shifted to a mindset that aligns with Survive, Revive and Thrive, or are we sticking to business-as-usual? Do we have the capacity and attitude to lead in extreme situations and uncertainty, or are we better positioned in a deep supporting role, away from thought leadership?

Let’s not be afraid of lifting our teams and our customers out of a stalled, panic mindset. Instead, let’s inject some inspiration and motivation to embrace a tangible opportunity for transformation. These are testing times and those who are willing to tackle new challenges are most likely to prevail.