Resilience – “the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties”
I’ve always worked on business resilience with my clients, but courtesy of lockdown it has become a major focus for most business owners. It’s a big subject! So here are my top four key areas for business resilience right now.
Know your Numbers
Some find it stunningly boring looking at the figures in their business, some would rather not know, some don’t know what to look at or where to look and others turn it in to an art form! Whichever camp you are in, understanding your figures should be high on the priority list because setting targets, knowing how you intend to achieve them and setting KPI’s (key performance indicators) to measure them, is the key.
Get organised
Now might be a great time to look at your business and have a (late) spring clean. It’s a good time to bring things up to date and even implement some new systems. Typically in most businesses, systems develop organically and every now and then, just like in the garden, things sometimes need to be trimmed, tidied up or ripped out and start again!
Marketing
It’s easy when times are tough to decide to batten down the hatches, hide away and wait for someone to tell us when it’s all over. Actually now might be a great time to shout louder, to introduce new products or services or target a new market. How many local businesses have we seen recently completely reinvent themselves because their traditional customer has ceased for the time being. Potentially they will be stronger and in a more resilient place in the new normal.
Communicate
Finally remember whether it is your customers, your suppliers, your employees or your ambassadors – no one has gone away. They may not be with you for the time being but potentially they will come back….when they can. Your role in the meantime is to keep communicating with them. So check in with them, find out how they are and show them that you care.