Author: Larisa Miller

“For those entrepreneurs or business leaders who want their businesses to not only recover in the wake of Covid-19, but who also desire to be the industry shapers, they must be brave enough to rewrite their business roadmap”

What is one of the most important business lessons learned in 2020? The answer is easy…crumple up that legacy business model and throw it in the trash.

You may be asking, “Why would I want to throw away a model that worked for 10, 20, 30 years – or even for multiple familial generations?” Because what we knew to be normal in the past era of business has been disrupted and replaced. We cannot go back to normal because normal was our problem. This past year – a year held hostage by Covid-19 – has allowed us to see the fractures in our environment, society, economy and business. Most all businesses – and governments for that matter, have really only been prepared for a mild, short-term disruption (if they were prepared at all). Businesses lacked basic contingency plans for their business and operational models, and for sure, they were nowhere near prepared for the large-scale systemic shut-down that blanketed the world like a hard rain of volcanic ash. No one could have prognosticated the disruption to our global supply chains, markets, off-take and operations. But now, as industry looks ahead to a period of recovery, businesses and investors are beginning to see, once again, that while these are the times when fortunes are both made and lost, there is an opportunity and ability to ensure that we move forward as business vanguards through the willingness to disrupt current business model, finding gaps that no one else yet sees, innovating solutions to fill these gaps. While it sounds difficult, with a slight readjustment of our thought processes, we can begin to dissect the challenges, and pioneer extraordinary solutions.

For those entrepreneurs or business leaders who want their businesses to not only recover in the wake of Covid-19, but who also desire to be the industry shapers, they must be brave enough to rewrite their business roadmap. These founders or leaders recognize that it is only by doing business in a way no one else is that they will have opportunities no one else has. Focusing on a few key areas – the integration of sustainability strategies, introducing compelling storytelling, and prioritizing corporate social responsibly, we can trigger creative shifts that will help to position businesses to run the race into the future out in front of competitors.

Sustainability

The most overused and least understood buzzword in the English language is ‘sustainability’. Sustainability goes well beyond simply hugging bears, bunnies and trees. It means the complete viability of our future – environmentally, socially and economically. In short, sustainability means survival.

“A framework of sustainability provides strong value to stakeholders, investors and customers, allowing them to make an ancillary impact on the planet and on society, giving investors a compelling reason to choose your company over your competitors.”

As we are all stakeholders of the future, we have a responsibility to play a role in the triple bottom line of tomorrow – people, planet and profit. A company that adopts a platform of sustainability is proven to outperform competitors when they infuse metrics of environmental, social and governance (ESG) into their business models. Making a short-term investment in the long-term viability of their businesses through a policy of sustainable impact will help a company have a distinctive competitive edge and plays a significant role in determining business success. A framework of sustainability provides strong value to stakeholders, investors and customers, allowing them to make an ancillary impact on the planet and on society, giving investors a compelling reason to choose your company over your competitors.

How we tackle something as massive as our global sustainability can be overwhelming for a business. Many assume their impact will be token, so they tend to put off adopting these measures of responsibility. The United Nations has given us a remarkable roadmap to success in the Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs). For a business to genuinely and quantifiably make an impact on sustainability, they only need to select and adopt one or two of the 17 goals, for which they can generate the strongest measures of influence. Encourage employees to volunteer collectively on behalf of your company; integrate policies of efficiency into your operations (recycling, energy conservation, etc.); implement platforms of fair and equitable opportunity for employees into your business culture – these are but a few of the ways a company can make an impact. Sometimes, the biggest impact can stem from the smallest gesture.

Storytelling

Once you commit to a sustainable transformation of your business model, you must create the story. While you are measuring the cost savings of raising your office temperature a degree or two; prioritizing gender equity in your workplace; creating equal opportunities for influence, leadership and promotion amongst your employees; embracing a responsible and accountable supply chain; and other measures unique to your company’s commitment, the value of these measures won’t be recognized outside your company culture unless you share the value of your impact. To do that, you must have a well-crafted story. It is not disingenuous to share your impact with the world, you are simply allowing the value of your measures to pass forward to your customers.

“Admittedly, one of the hardest things to do is to is to talk about ourselves and tell our business ‘story’. But telling this story is one of the most critical elements of business visibility and promotion”

Admittedly, one of the hardest things to do is to is to talk about ourselves and tell our business ‘story’. But telling this story is one of the most critical elements of business visibility and promotion. Highlighting your products, the backstory of your founding, or many other topics that can articulate your essence, will go a long way towards helping customers, stakeholders and investors make an informed and conscious decision to choose your products or services. One way to tell a persuasive story is to study, understand and share the quality and value of your supply chain. If you are a company that makes chocolate, where does your dairy come from? This is an opportunity to share your support of the family farms. Are you sourcing supplies from a company owned by a woman? Spotlight that woman and use this as a demonstration of the importance of encouraging opportunities for women-led enterprises. Let the value of others in your supply chain lend their value – their story – to you, which you in turn pass on to your stakeholders and customers.

You can also paint a very compelling picture by highlighting your goals for the future. Promote the fact that you are committed to reducing your carbon footprint by ‘x’ percentage within a prescribed amount of time. Is 40% of your executive board made up of women and/or minorities? This shows the world that you recognize that importance of an inclusive and unified workplace and that you respect the diverse perspective of your team. Are you using data to understand and anticipate the needs of your customers? Use this to truly and genuinely enhance the customer experience – showing that you value their time and want them to have an optimized user experience when they engage with your brand. You, as a business, have a blank page on which to write your future. What you write on that page is up to you. Tell your story in a way that showcases your commitment to the SDGs, your value to your community, and your recognition that together, we are stronger. Your story is the heart of your business…make each word count.

Corporate Social Responsibility

A business is only as strong as the community it supports. Giving back must be an integral component of the business model of today. Whether you are a micro-enterprise or a multinational, there must be outward impact to go along with your internal profitability and growth. Even if you are a small business without significant revenue, remember, there is no measure too small, no gesture too ‘token’, and no act of altruism that is insignificant. Sponsor a community project, reward your employees for volunteering or mentoring, start a non-profit arm of your company and use this to lend a portion of your business model to making a difference.

“Whether you are a micro-enterprise or a multinational, there must be outward impact to go along with your internal profitability and growth”

For large companies, create a ‘year of giving’ in your workplace. Select several non-profits and give your employees the opportunity to automatically allocate a small amount from their paycheck each month to the non-profit of their choice. This allows you to share the value, the feeling, and the personal reward of giving back with your employees. Creating a culture of giving within your workplace will accelerate your corporate culture on all levels, creating a happier, more cohesive work environment, while reducing turn-over rates.

We are the architects of the future. We are the authors of our way-forward. Our business model is malleable and can evolve with our experience, societal stressors and needs, and the gaps we see in society which can be filled by our brands. Disruptive innovation rarely comes from within an industry or sector. The concept for Airbnb did not come from within the hotel industry. The concept for Uber did not come from the taxi industry. By reimagining the future, filling the fractures in new and innovative ways, we can be the true leaders and changemakers of a healthier, more tolerant, unified and sustainable future. Worry less about competition and concern yourself more with being a progressive leader. Don’t waste your time looking at a shift in the operations of your competitor, and instead, spend your time exploring new technologies, strategies or solutions which will allow you to do business in ways that others have yet to recognize or embrace. Don’t be afraid to say, “why not” when someone says, “that won’t work” or “why are you making that change”.

Never get comfortable with your success. Embrace your responsibility to the future viability of our planet. Don’t be afraid to tell your story, and do it in a way that is honest, compelling and impactful. And always remember, a small change can yield big results.

“Don’t waste your time looking at a shift in the operations of your competitor, and instead, spend your time exploring new technologies, strategies or solutions which will allow you to do business in ways that others have yet to recognize or embrace”

Entrepreneurship is the foundation on which the future of business will be built. With the fractures in manufacturing and supply chain, which became evident during the COVID-19 pandemic, there is an immediate opportunity to start businesses with innovative models and solutions, and those having services or products that fill our current challenges and needs. Among established small businesses, which are the backbone of our communities, many are struggling to regain their footing during this challenging and unprecedented time. If we approach the future of business with a new outlook, discarding what we knew to be true about the past, creating what will be true about the future, businesses will transform, going from a position of vulnerability to a position of strength.

When businesses are enduring difficult times, either due to internal or external catalysts, we must all have a distinctive approach to confronting these challenges and crafting customized solutions. While many businesses are looking at the situation from a linear standpoint (“How can I take what you already have and just tweak it to find a solution?”), businesses who approach the challenges using an out-of-the-box thought-process will be the ones shaping the future. When revitalizing business plans, innovating models, or helping a distressed business to recover and accelerate, focus not only on ways to do it differently, but create a unique roadmap for your company, measuring these changes through integration and implementation, so that you can quantify the impact to your stakeholders, customers and employees. Businesses should not simply improve or solve a problem in their operations; they MUST find ways to differentiate themselves from their competitors, carving a unique niche for themselves in an overcrowded marketspace. This not only increases profitability, but it generates value, impact, consumer confidence and profitability.

While this is a very disruptive time for business, disruption leads to transformation. As businesses around the world are channeling large portions of their budgets into cybersecurity and making sure their employees have access to technology and connectivity while working remotely, and as physical office space sits empty, we are embracing this as our new way-forward. Even when this pandemic stabilizes and it is safe to go back to “normal”, it will be far too costly and inefficient to put things back the way they once were. We can’t go back to normal when normal was clearly the problem. KPIs are up, overhead is down…welcome to the new norm.

Many business experts are advising clients to pull in their sails, but I fully disagree! You are missing a phenomenal opportunity! This is the time when fortunes will be made, and fortunes will be lost. While many businesses will sit back licking their wounds, waiting to see how the dust will settle, those who are proactive, examining the gaps that are appearing, and formulating unique solutions will be the ones leading the pack into our transformational future. There is a way back “in” for every business and industry. Finding it, however, requires us to step out of the cattle chute of “business as it’s always been done”, and begin to look at our businesses through fresh eyes, understanding that it may require us to scrap much of our existing model in favor of innovation and change. When adversity becomes a chapter in the handbook of our business, remember that you are the author of the story. You determine what happens next. Whether the story ends or continues depends on your willingness to step out of your comfort zone, being brave enough to disrupt your existing model, and lead the way in a new direction. The beauty in writing each chapter of our lives is that we can take the eraser to the words and redo them any time. Life is never written with a Sharpie. If you make a mess of today, forgive yourself and start fresh with the sunrise.

“While this is a very disruptive time for business, disruption leads to transformation”

“This is the time when fortunes will be made, and fortunes will be lost.”

During COVID-19, we witnessed the breakdown of our global governments at many levels. As businesses, we count on our governmental policies to be our beacon in the night. One of our biggest lessons-learned during the pandemic is that we must take responsibility for our own circumstances. We’ve allowed ourselves to get too comfortable in the somewhat erroneous belief that our government will be able to come to our rescue in times of economic downturn, natural disaster or, clearly, pandemic. Perhaps we are learning a hard lesson about our role in our systemic recovery and resiliency. As we re-evaluate our strategies, implementing new mechanisms and policies which will transform our operations, we must establish contingencies for the fractures which have appeared – and continue to appear, in our supply chains, operations, distribution and services. It would not be unreasonable to use the past few months as the measure by which we reshape our strategy, ensuring that we weigh each catalyst and consequence to formulate flexible and adaptable plans for our new enterprise models.

2020 was about as predictable as the path of a Kansas cyclone. Not long after stepping into this new decade, as we all know, the world was blindsided with an unexpected reality – COVID-19. We went from commuting 90 minutes to/from the suburbs to commuting 30 seconds to our home office, which, for many folks, was/is the kitchen table, serving the dual purpose of conference room and classroom. Schools morphed into computer screens, airports became parking lots, and an elbow bump became the new handshake. We were gearing up for March madness, only to be shocked with an unexpected ‘madness’ in March. Four months ago, the education of our children was a daily routine – mindless clockwork. What time they get on and off the school bus; their spring sports schedules; SAT and ACT testing dates…all written in marker on our calendars. Why write it in pencil? These expectations and benchmarks were as predictable as the solstice – rigid, routine, unalterable.

Progress doesn’t stop because of a challenge, in fact, challenges are the catalysts for progress. It is said that the Stone Age didn’t end because we ran out of stones, it ended because of PROGRESS. We aspire to more sophisticated medical care. We find ways to use technology to automate and innovate. We create processes and operations to make our businesses competitive and relevant. As parents, we strive to enable our children to progress beyond us in terms of quality of life and success. Progress implies forward motion. Why then, in the face of COVID-19 and the challenges we are facing in our businesses, would we want to go BACK to the way things were? Why would we want to regress into the past – a past that was clearly laden with systemic fragility, catastrophic failures in governmental policy, supply gain inefficiencies and gaps, and ineffective plans for the management of risk. We can’t go back to normal because ‘normal’ was the problem.

“One of our biggest lessons-learned during the pandemic is that we must take responsibility for our own circumstances”

“Progress doesn’t stop because of a challenge, in fact, challenges are the catalysts for progress”

There is no magic formula which will determine how we emerge from the challenges of 2020; however, we need to look at this new year with a different mindset. Instead of letting 2021 shape us, we must shape 2021. Our success or failure is not predestined, arbitrary or accidental. We cannot attach blame or pass away the accountability. Too often, business owners or leaders fall into the ‘victim trap’, believing the there’s nothing they can do except lick their wounds and ride out the storm. However, to emerge from unprecedented and challenging times in a position of strength, flying as lead-bird, you cannot waste one minute ‘waiting it out’. While large multi-nationals have the internal teams or the access and resources to engage the large consulting firms for guidance and direction, buoyancy, weathering this storm and the subsequent recovery is much more challenging for entrepreneurs and small businesses. Small business owners bear the brunt of responsibility, carrying the weight of continuity, feeling the greatest impact from unexpected setbacks, closures and/or lapses in the supply chain. Small business owners are often required to step into all roles and positions within the company, meeting KPIs for the entire operational force. Being frugal with resources, doing more with less, and shouldering the uncertainty are, too often, the burden – and the survival strategy deployed by struggling small business owners. With the right tools and perspective, however, coupled with the courage to ‘reinvent’ in the face of adversity and challenge, small business owners have the singular opportunity to distinguish themselves, moving ahead of the pack of competitors, shaping themselves to be the vanguards of the future.

Accelerating our business depends on our ability to understand the need to re-strategize, then being courageous enough swerve off the pathway, recognizing that we have the power to pioneer a way-forward for others to follow. This is the motivation that will keep us driving ahead. But it all begins by making a commitment to persevere in the face of adversity and the determination to find the right key that will fit the lock of our new future.