Are you ready for the Green Flag?

On a Sunday at a NASCAR race, you'll find the top professional drivers in the world putting all their skills to work trying to cross the finish line in 1st place. These are highly trained and naturally talented drivers, operating finely-tuned high-performance machines, supported by world class coaches and pit crews. The best of the best. But even with all this talent and all these resources, accidents still happen. Sometimes it's the fault of a driver, sometimes it's unpredictable and unpreventable mechanical failures, and sometimes it's an act of nature (like rain making the track too slick). Whatever the cause, the yellow flag comes out and the race enters a "caution" period.

Under caution, for several laps, the cars are effectively in a holding pattern. A pace car comes out to the front of the line to regulate the speed of the cars in the field. Drivers are not allowed to pass one another, and competition is halted. It seems like they are just waiting for the race to resume. From the outside it can seem very unproductive.

Quick timeout: Does your business feel like this right now? Are you in a holding pattern, just waiting for everything to get going again? Does it feel like a slower pace - maybe even unproductive?

Well let's take some lessons from our NASCAR professionals. Being under caution is not a time to downshift (figuratively, anyway) - in fact, it's often how this period is managed that determines who wins the race and who doesn't. This is an intense period of preparation and strategy! The cars may not be racing, but what every driver and crew member are doing is positioning themselves to be ready when the race resumes - in NASCAR, when the green flag drops.

Often, drivers enter the "pit" under the caution flag. This gives them a chance to fuel up, get fresh tires, and make any adjustments to the car that might help improve their chances of winning. They want to make sure they are ready to go at peak performance when the race resumes. The driver and their coach may fine tune their strategy for the rest of the race, share what they each see is and isn't working. Hundreds of things can happen during this caution time- but it all should build to one thing: being ready to go when the green flag drops.

Our current global pandemic has thrown a caution flag for many of our businesses. Is your business using this time to prepare? To strategize? To refresh, fuel up, and make critical adjustments?

Or are you just trying to survive it?

We don't know when, but there will be a green flag. We'll be called back into the race, and I have a feeling the competition (for dollars, for mindshare, for people, and more) is going to be fierce.

If you're only surviving now, you may find yourselves struggling to survive when the race resumes, too.

Here are a few ideas that might help you use this caution time to be ready for the green flag:

1. Fuel Up - Where has your business been running on empty? Where have your people been operating with low tanks? Some answers to these questions require capital investment, and that might be impractical for us right now. But there are many ways to fuel up that won't cost you a penny. A common answer with a cheap fix: appreciation. Most people don't get near as much as they'd like, and it can be a great time to share some appreciation with your colleagues. You may also consider some career planning so that folks see a path and a future with your organization. Maybe put some people through training that will serve them well when business starts back up. Even a simple weekly check-in with your favorite Brady Bunch style video platform can do wonders to fill up the tanks of your team members.
2. Get Fresh Tires - What are you doing that is worn, tired, and stale? What do you need to upgrade? In our business over the last month, this has involved a huge retooling of our virtual communication tools - upgrading our WebEx, investing in quality headsets and cameras (because that one good set we have at the office isn't enough anymore), and putting our trainers through advanced online training seminars. Maybe there is a new approach or innovation that you've been considering for awhile. A website or social media tool you have been wanting to build and implement. Maybe even something simple like an employee handbook that's needed a face-lift for a few years. You've been telling yourself, "When things slow down, we'll get to it." This is as good a time as you're going to get! Build it now so that when the green flag drops you'll be ready to go.
3. Make Adjustments - Are there policies or processes that could be updated and improved? Are there internal communications that could be simplified or enhanced? Could you restructure roles and job descriptions? If you're struggling to come up with something in your business that needs to be adjusted, the best way to get ideas is to ask your people - trust me, they'll have ideas. Discuss it and try it out now, and things will run more smoothly when the green flag drops.
4. Plan and Strategy - We may not have a crystal ball, but we can do our best to anticipate our market over the coming months and what our business will need to do to best serve it. You might (you probably will) need to adjust that plan, but there is still value in making and having a plan. If you really want to do this well, use this caution time to get feedback and insight from your people that shapes the plan. Create a dialog and give them some ownership. People support a world they helped create.
5. Best Practices (what is and isn't working) - Uncover and share what is working right now, and what isn't working right now. Refresh this conversation frequently - things are changing very quickly today, and best practices are changing daily. If you want your team to be agile in this environment and adjust to what your customers need, one of the most powerful things you can do is share with each other your experiences on what is working and what your customers are responding to. Collaboration is more important now than it has ever been.

The green flag is coming. I don't know when, but it will come. And when it does, I have a feeling we'll see a few months of racing like we haven't seen in decades.

Make sure you, and your team, are ready.