Maintain the pace; change the focus from reactive to proactive execution

The impact of COVID-19 has presented major challenges to people and organisations around the globe. Business leaders are managing the crisis

on behalf of their employees, customers and key stakeholders at velocity that has surprised many.

Leaders have faced the challenge of coordinating the myriad of business continuity, crisis management and pandemic response actions needed, whilst ensuring the physical and emotional well-being of their employees, and preparing their organisations for unprecedented levels of uncertainty.

Business leaders are shifting the focus to the “new normal”, by considering the capabilities they will need in order to thrive in a post COVID-19 world. Organisations are considering how they can adapt traditional service offerings to respond to evolving market demands and disrupted business models. One thing is for sure; the pace at which organisations need to plan and execute has radically increased.

Massive changes in market demand dynamics, consumption patterns, distribution, scattered workforces, supply chain bottlenecks, cashflow and forecast uncertainty are just a few issues organisations are currently facing. Taking steps to better adapt and meet these challenges has the potential to offer your organisation a more sustainable outlook.

There is being agile, and there is being smart and agile. It is relatively easy to arrange daily or weekly “stand-ups” of your leadership team to manage your way through the crisis. You can also utilise your pre-crisis methods of recording decisions and tracking implementation. It is another thing altogether to use technology to facilitate the process and to visualise progress. The way we do business will change post-crisis. For good, and for the most part, for the better. My recommendation is ‘Don’t wait’.

Bryan Whitefield, Director of Bryan Whitefield Consulting and Author of Winning Conversations: How to turn red tape into blue ribbon and DECIDE: How to Manage the Risk in Your Decision Making.

Redefining business strategies and the related performance measures and targets and needs rapid communication from the executive team with clear accountabilities and timeframes. The ability to establish clear feedback mechanisms to allow for iteration, refinement or pivot in terms of strategy is also critical. This can no longer be achieved with colour coded spreadsheets or glitzy PowerPoint presentations.

Sound strategy management is hard work, effective execution even harder; but having the right tooling helps.

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