Entrepreneurs Guide To Positioning Themselves During This COVID19 Crisis.

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The UK government has provided over £300billion financial support to resuscitate businesses that are hugely affected by the covid19 outbreak. This is because the government understands the crucial role businesses play in sustaining the economy. The global impacts of Covid19 pandemic have forced governments such as the US, France, Germany and Spain to do the same. Businesses are on the brink of bankruptcy exposing the economic weaknesses of nations. As nations scramble to secure the health of their citizens, they also realise they can’t achieve that without first sustaining the economy, and they have to work hand-in-a-glove with businesses, small, medium and large to actualise any healthy strategy. 

Both on an individual and national levels, we are incomplete without businesses, we manifest who we are through our businesses. Business is a way of augmenting our capabilities, no wonder people service-oriented businesses such as; the airline industry, fashion, car manufacturing, the entertainment and hospitality industries are hit the hardest by Covid19.

Although this situation has presented us with enormous challenges, it’s also important to quickly grasp the intrinsic message that comes with the situation, knowing that problems are the number one byproduct of progress. Resilience allows you to deal with constantly changing environments. Now is the time for you to start laying your hands on things that may come your way.

As an entrepreneur, a problem solver, this is the time to discover what more you can give, throw yourself in and be part of the solutions people are looking for. Once you make this discovery you will no longer be a jailbird to coronavirus. 

 Sometimes your job may be suffocating you in the cage, forcing you to fit in instead of standing up. It’s essential for you to use this period to discover there is more you can be than just a workaholic.

1.Focus
Focus on what you want to see happen. Don’t focus on what might go wrong or what has gone wrong. In this case, don’t focus on Covid19. 
Muhammad Ali said: “What keeps me going is my goal.” 
Energy gravitates towards clear goals. Once you have a goal half of the battle is won, it means to keep going, come rain or sun. Nothing deters a man with a clear goal and with focus on these goals, you will find the will to become solution-oriented.

2. Adaptability

Are you ready to embrace new values and beliefs?  If you comprehend the situation, you will discover that this situation is pushing for new ways of life. This change in belief encourages you to start taking responsibility, positioning yourself differently and searching within for what more you can offer. This pandemic is asking for new ideas, innovation, solutions and only those who are able to adjust to the needs, put themselves forward with solutions will become the heroes of tomorrow. To do this, you would have first adapted to this new way of living.
Darwin said, “It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent but,  the one who is most adaptable to change.”
New values include breaking the grip of the old culture. Covid19 has come to transform the corporate culture and it is the right time for you to also reshape your value, future and life.

The question you must answer now is, what other ways can I use to serve my clients? What problems could they be facing now that I can solve? Strange situations offer you the opportunity to shift your mind in finding alternatives.

Negative feelings could cause you guilt and self-doubt. Don’t confuse caring for keeping happy. You can’t please every person even under routine circumstances much less during a crisis. You must focus on taking your business through the tough, unpopular period to survive. This is a highly emotional climate yet you need to adapt rapidly otherwise you may be shafted out. 

It’s almost impossible to create a significantly different culture unless you strip the old one of its power. You have to reinforce the behaviour you want. Make it painful and unpleasant for people who hang on to the habits you’re trying to break. Send a very clear signal regarding how you expect people to behave. Don’t settle for anything else.

Real-world only rewards result. It does not reward people for showing up or trying.

3. Creativity and innovation.

We must be creative. Talent is not enough. Talent with encounters gives rise to creativity. A lot of people are talented but never had an encounter, never engaged, never had flow. You cannot start a business or sustain one if it doesn’t resonate with you. If you love something, you talk about it all the time, you think about it all the time and like to be involved with it all the time. Is it the approach you have for your business? Do things that stimulate creativity especially now the world is cold, silent and depressing.

Jonathan David Lewis in his book, Brand VS Wild wrote: “The night drew on until a loud muffled noise like metal failing to the snow made a boy named Roy suddenly stand up.”

Until the difficult time comes into shore, we are not startled. Many are always in Slumber until a crisis like Covid19 knocks on their door, suddenly they’re awake to the reality of life and begin to use the ingenuity and creativity they never thought was within.

Innovation is about giving people what they never thought was possible. It is critical we innovate, though we never love to lose other parts of us there will not be an innovation if we stick to what we already know. Innovation is about removing the old and putting in new. Without innovation, we cannot release what is hidden inside of us. Innovation rekindles the wig in our heart. The world is in need of people who come alive. 

Just like school is the voice of the establishment, the school provides innovation to businesses. They reflect a sweeping change in priorities and beliefs. 

The business will take a financial beating if they don’t change their culture so they measure up in terms of quality, speed and innovation.

4. Give your  best

Nature always gives us far and beyond and better than we thought was possible. Excellence is our birthright. If you can’t be excellent at something better never start it. If there is no enthusiasm, you will not have that passion that leads to a high level of commitment. When you face a crisis like this Covid19 in business as we encounter now there is an urge to give up or go into another business, it’s daunting and scary. Fear will not leave you alone, it will force you to lose focus. Of course, when we become afraid our judgement tends to be distorted and we begin to have tunnel vision and sometimes not be conscious of our environment. 

5. Effective communication.

Start by giving people a clear vision. Be Frank and specific. Don’t talk in generalities or get fuzzy in stating the objectives. You can’t afford to allow any room for confusion.

Communication is the no.1 skill in life and business. Effective communication changes the mind of people to adopt new attitudes and behaviours. How you communicate to yourself and others determine how far you can bring change to make things happen. As Mandela said, “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart. When you speak to people’s hearts, as well as their heads, no doubt they will understand. Like what we are seeing in the UK now, the government hasn’t shown that clarity in its communications about social distancing. The cure for all pandemic in history has been to quarantine and social distancing since there is no vaccine yet. However, it has been challenging for the government to actualise this because of a break in communication. Communication lacking clarity causes more confusion and disorientation. 

6. Measure results.

This global pandemic has exposed the weaknesses, vulnerabilities and failures in our healthcare system.

If nobody is going to the trouble to measure results, why expect employees to produce results? The only way you can hold your people personally accountable for culture change is to keep close tabs on what you want them to treat as important. Big achievements start with small actions. Francis of Assisi once gave this powerful advice: “Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”

To measure effectively, the factors must be tangible. For example, if your goal is to complete your book, you must be able to measure how many words you will have to write each day.  

7. Track progress so you can see where the program is bogging down and you will know where resistance lies. Until the new culture becomes second nature, the gravitational pull of old culture influences people to revert to their old habits. If you don’t pay close attention they will relax. Their minds drift. We love to go back to our default position. We love culture and traditions that do fail to spot important change coming to our shore. Sometimes we think things will disappear by themselves, a miracle will take them away but, experience has taught us you must take action. 

Monitoring people’s performance enables you to allocate your energy, reward and sanctions.

Measurements are what provides you data for feedback on your people. Good results should be celebrated. Poor results should be used as a spotlight to help or sanction employees in order to get the best out of them.

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