It's been more than 15 months as we continue to struggle through this pandemic season.
We have been challenged as never before to face and deal with:
1. Our personal relationships
2. Our business relationships
3. The next steps in our attempt to save our business
4. How to treat to the displacement of our employees and still retain talent
5. Re-engineering, re-positioning and re tooling our business processes to stay in the game.
The key to resolving all of these events lies in our response to each of them. That requires us to be calm, patient, thoughtful, innovative and action oriented.
Let's explore how we respond to the business side of things. Remember, it is not what happens to us in life that matters, but how we respond to what happens to us, that's what makes the difference!
If your business is closed right now and you are waiting for the Barbados economy to re open so that your business can be swept up in it, here are 5 actions or activities you may wish to consider as part of your plans in order to be ready.
1. We all need a Blueprint to guide our path. So, spend the time to really look over each pillar within your organization. Human resources; marketing; process flows; procedures and policies; security, information communications and technology, both internal and external. Even your legal structure. And don't forget the important financial pillar.
2. Examine the need to pivot to a different delivery process to your customers. Or even determine if the demographics of your customer base have shifted materially.
3. Assess what cash and cash convertible assets are accessible to you. Check your 30 to 60-day liabilities as well. Use this to determine a 12-week rolling cash flow futurecast.
4. Have discussions with the key talent within your organization to see what, if any, things can be done, aside from the obvious paying of full salary, to both ease the financial pressure on their families while balancing any returns to your organization while doing so.
5. Stay mentally and physically active. Decide to either start or continue a weekly exercise routine. Involve your household if possible
and make it fun. If the exercise is outdoors, use the opportunity to keep your mind sharp by adding, subtracting, multiplying or dividing vehicle numbers on passing vehicle number plates. Or count the number of red cars you see along the way. Numeric exercises keep the dendrites in your brain alert and active.
I hope these few suggestions were useful and that you can actually apply them immediately.
Send me your feedback with either comments, more suggestions or even how these actions helped you in anyway.
By Oral R. Dowell CEO, Dowell's Advisory Services Inc.
