What Now. What Next.

As we were sharing notes around topic ideas, Bob posed two questions to me. "What now?" and "What next?" He suggested we start to specifically focus on those two questions.

On the morning of March 12th, Bob Izsak (my colleague and co-collaborator) and I were meeting over coffee with the goal of identifying subjects we could come together on in a CEO speaker series. We were struck by how people's behaviour had begun to change. Sleeves rolled over hands to open the doors, lack of people ordering any food, distance people were giving each other. Our conversation quickly changed to, "wow…this Coronavirus is going to be a big deal.” We started talking about the impact on the constituency we serve, namely the SMB space and how this could catch the vast majority unprepared.

Fast forward a couple of days and the world had changed significantly. As we were sharing notes around topic ideas, Bob posed two questions to me. "What now?" and "What next?" He suggested we start to specifically focus on those two questions. We got to work and within a matter of days we had gathered a group of subject matter experts and we were all frantically building content. Our goal was to help create something SMB's could use to navigate the crisis. We approached the work from an abundance mindset.

Over the course of the past several weeks, we have been working on a practical how-to guide that small and mid-sized business leaders might utilize as they attempt to address "what now and what next". The result of that work can be found here: www.businesshealthcouncil.ca

Is this guide for you?

This guide has been developed for small and medium-sized enterprises/businesses (SMEs) in the USA, Canada, and around the world. If your annual revenues fall between five and fifty million, you are well suited to take advantage of the full scope of the guide. For those of you under five million dollars in annual revenue or less than twenty employees, you may be unaccustomed to the level of planning detail the guide suggests. During this unique time, we encourage you to roll up your sleeves. Great planning and superior industry insights provide good returns, especially for those with rapid growth in mind.

What you can expect

Expect to unearth opportunities, processes, and efficiencies, to 'break through' revenue and profit ceilings. Expect to improve your valuation, first, because of performance enhancement. Businesses with defensible strategies, and rigorous planning regimes, yield better multiples. Most important of all, expect to improve the relevancy and viability of your products and services in a post-pandemic world.

Why White Hat?

Rapid Innovation Post-Crisis: We anticipate an extended period of rapid change post-crisis, fueled by rapid migration to digital and innovation. At the heart of methodology is a documented process for businesses to rapidly innovate and adapt to a changing business environment.

Single Point of Access. White Hat is a full, comprehensive, free methodology available from a single point of access. There's no need to piece together best practices or disparate content.

Integration Across All Business Functions: White Hat takes a holistic approach integrated across operations, finance, accounting, sales, marketing, human capital, and information technology. It was developed and curated by a team of independent subject matter experts for small and medium-sized enterprises.

For more information visit our website: www.businesshealthcouncil.ca

Co-Authored with Bob Izsak