Uphill Battles to Produce Success

The whole pandemic situation can be characterized as a disruption, or if we wish to be a bit more descriptive we can embellish with the term ‘catastrophic’. The whirl wind of amplified suspicions, speculation, concerns, effects and responses are simply the conditions that within the disruptive vortex.  As with all disruptions it has a wider field of destruction that occurs which affects every walk of life.

Out of frustration and in reaction to isolate the general communities have set about virtual meetings to reestablish connections using a variety of social dialogs. These involve topical discussions, educational presentations and collective panel exchanges, many involving as a backdrop the pandemic. One can suspect that this subtle reference indicates the degree of concern that continues to be a distraction.

Pre-

Before we awoke to this hard breaking event there was a certain amount of tranquility that existed. Although we saw varying degrees of social unrest for the most part we also were in a go about your daily business routine.  While satisfied with this situation we were blindly oblivious to the impact that varying degrees of disruption would have on us.

On a personal level the curtailment in mobility placed us at risk for diminishing food stocks, curtail access to routine and abnormal services, and a disruption in gainful employment and education. This spilled over to questioning how long we could contend with this situation, what adaptions would be required and what reserves could be called upon. Even fall back measures, such as community and neighbors, were barred from our access. There also were many who suffered from almost immediate panic and mental instability from what appeared to be a total loss of control.

Businesses faced similar problems not just in the shift from a nuclear operations to remote but also as it related to reserve depletion. The spill over affect into our customer communities would also deal a devastating blow and their challenges became ours. No longer were relationships normal and it has become a case of survival.

In short the conditions we blissfully had have now surfaced significant problems that existed. Despite acclaims of sustainability, recovery and market control all become cases of measures that had flaws. This is not to suggest that under the pretense of normality that they weren’t there, nor does it imply that they weren’t sufficient for routine situations, it’s simply that they had limits as to the abilities to serve.

Now

Since the onset we have been in a limbo state that represents a adapted normality to what some have been calling the new normality. To claim such a title one would have to expect that present conditions would remain static, and that no one knows. What we know is that we had to make changes in the way we conduct life and our business in order to survive. We also knew that pre-existance had flaws, unjustified overreliance on certain aspects of our business and that before moving ahead that adjustments must be considered.  In order to consider these factors we needed to shift our long range thinking to one centered upon short term survival. No entity is absolved from facing this condition. We presently see some who remain in what we might consider as ‘existing mode’. In these cases the pre-pandemic behaviors are perpetuated and often supplemented by a bit of false face behavior that suggests immunity. Denial in a survival situation will almost always result in catastrophe.  The reason we can say that the old normal will not return is that the effects from the pandemic has created a permanent etching upon our thinking. There will always be a chance for reoccurrence whether in the form of an affliction or some other form of wide spread social disruption.

In facing this reality of the here-and-now, and beyond involve change also fondly known as the ‘pivot’.  The pivot represents a change in focus and objectives in order to provide for sustainability. We have received more than a couple of inquiries about pivots, mostly because changes and adaptions are not routine and especially under such disruptive inflight conditions. These inquiries involved mostly ‘what to do’, and ‘how to do’ situations caused by the underlying concern for doing it right. What gets ignored is timing and this involves objectively understanding the state of present disruption. Clearly this will be driven by the degree of control being maintained and the amount of risk taking assumptions being made.  Very few would be honest enough, unless in dire straits, to admit that they are scared because of the lack of control that exists. Those that are scared are more apt to be successful in their pivots because fear is an enabling trait that compels careful measure taking. This is different from those who put forth an all is well face that are apt to be diverting attention to damage control measures robbing reconstructive efforts.

Magic Formula

Your magic formula for achieving success in the present involves changing thinking and altering behavior. Neither is entirely easy although present day conditions force our hand a bit more than it would in the pre-pandemic period of tranquility.  

Business had priorities many of which were directed at growth. This has given way to survival measures with growth being a secondary consequence from what we hope are right decisions being made under extreme circumstances.  Right decisions come from control and correction measures, controlling important survival elements (revenue protection, capital reserve control, resource utilization…) and correcting aspects that are unnecessary or function improperly. It is also worth noting that within a survival response there is a certain degree of paralysis that causes response behavior to be inhibited (or in worse cases frozen). To invoke any response to any condition we must know and exercise those stimuli that will set into motion an appropriate response that is absent of emotional and mindless reactions.

In a dozen cases the act beyond involves a measured appreciation of post-pandemic achievement. Its not all about what we haven’t done but what positive gains we have achieved despite the circumstance. These are not just measured in fiscal terms but more visibly in the measures and the outcomes from those actions. How well did you transition, deploy and sustain work-from-home conditions? Was contact with your customers sustained beyond simply transactional motives? Did we as management sustain a sense of purpose, possibilities, leadership and engagement for the organization (or did we hide in remote isolation)?  These are the real, present moment, measures that reflect our state, potential and investable possibilities.  

The beacons of light are simple but not always visible because we still have grown accustom to the new level of lighting in the room. Until then we are apt to hold tightly upon the old even though we know that it’s unlikely to return, but for the need for comfort in the familiar. Once we become accustom we can concentrate on building sustainability, shoring up resilience to added disruptions and recasting the framework that represents our brand and our business enterprise. As individuals we will undergo a similar exercise based on the realization of fundamental importance, inherent strengths and amazing adaptable flexibility.

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Clarity Group Global is an intellectual decision validation institution dedicated to the support of leaders, companies and organizations that face challenging choices. Making right decisions that produce significant value equates to less disruption and chaos, "non-tradition made exceptional".

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