7 Business Readjustment That Can Make You Fly

By Aditi Maheshwari

Covid-19 has created uncertain scenarios that we as individuals and businesses are forced to change our practices to navigate this challenging period. The obvious questions coming up are – how do we enable business continuity during these times of turmoil. How will the future of travel be like, how do we increase engagement in virtual meetings, how do we creatively solve problems, how do we handle fear and stress due to COVID anxiety? How do we incorporate more work from home scenarios, how do we improve work efficiency to incorporate new time tables, the power of communication, the risk-bearing capacity in turbulent times, management crisis, the risks and rewards of investing in times of uncertainties, how do we operate in a safe and inclusive environment, etc. Instability is changing the consumer’s needs and purchasing patterns. To remain relevant and keep your business moving in this present time, it’s important to redesign and remodel so that you don’t remain behind while others are forging ahead. In this article, Amazons Watch outlines seven re-adjustment to make in this age and time.

1. For individuals and businesses, this period has introduced the need of innovation and creativity. Virtual team-based problem solving is the fashion statement in the present times of social distancing. A reduced need for dedicated office space, the increased dependency on 5G, better data security requirements, etc. are the new work patterns relevant in today’s time.

2. In this transformation period, it is necessary to realign the following areas: communication style, education, enablement, creativity and innovation, motivation, expectations, spending nature, recognition, and rewards. It’s important to think and analyze where the loopholes are, what are the current and future obstacles, measures to fill the potential gaps, measures to deal with the crisis, how to future-proof the system through technology and other means, etc.

3. One must create multiple streams of income with more opportunities than meets the eye. The following industries are hotspots of opportunities at the moment – technology, healthcare, marketing, e-commerce, online study, etc. Look forward and examine the factors affecting your particular business and employees, leverage the punctuated equilibrium happenings.

4. We need to embrace our organizational vulnerability and at the same time create trust in order to sustain and thrive in the long term. Effective performance is the result of thoughtful leadership. Competency development is the need of the hour.  

5. Augment Technology to bolster beleaguered sectors such as education and real estate. We need to have a commitment to challenge assumptions and willingness to put ourselves out in erratic circumstances to make sense of the growing disruption in our world and mechanize the disruption into tangible results. Innovation can occur when the most elementary questions are asked and when employees are given power and resources to find answers. So innovation has to be appropriate for your business. It must give you an edge over your competitors in such unusual circumstances. It’s not just about innovating in an existing market but actually helping to create the market. The capacity to innovate and adapt will determine the future results whether it’s in relation to the social inequities that exist, the impact of technology or the strength and design of our support structure.

6. Freelance, independent, and contract work will be accelerating. The definitions of recruiting and retaining the iconic talent, adapting to the new company cultures are rapidly changing. It gives an opportunity to pilot agile team design. Maybe it’s an opportunity to be greatly productive. It’s a time to deliberately focus on what we can control. It’s time to develop mental flexibility, agility, innovation, creativity and critical thinking so that the dependency on outsourcing reduces naturally but the growth still continues. We are transitioning from job economy to skill economy.

7. We have to look at different forms of business leadership. The endemic niggles cannot be measured with firm certainty. Morale decline during this period will cost heavily on humanity. The best advice for companies during this period is to adopt a management style that is unique and which is designed such to empower employees, build trust and avoid a culture of fear. The trade now is finding ideas and turning them into business by fulfilling needs and solving problems.

The best decision is to play by your strength. Even the most rarefied and exotic-sounding businesses work on familiar principles. An appetite for learning is vital if you are to take advantage of new opportunities in these unchartered waters of economic fluctuations. This will require you to take a real interest in people, and what they’re up to, and how you can help them. You cannot strike gold on your own. Connecting with others acts as a bridge to build resources, ideas and opportunities which in turn makes the journey bearable and helps in quick restoration.  

The operating business models need to be remodelled. No individual or company has a bulletproof solution to handle the crisis.  Our potential lies in our capacity to add value to our customers, clients and employees.

Turn from the victim mentality to that of a protagonist mentality. We need to have the courage to dance with what unfolds.