Whether the coronavirus or just a recession, all of us are susceptible to life being full of uncertainties. Every day we are bombarded with political upheaval, health concerns, economic rallies/declines and the list goes on. Fear is certainly a normal response, but that can only take you so far. At some point, you just have to accept reality, make a plan and move forward so you can get back to a place of strength. This document should be helpful for businesses/investors and service providers to put together a game plan. My hope, and prayer, is that this can fit into any industry you find yourself in. Let's go ahead and dive into some proactive measures of what I call Wisdom, Plan, Do….here they are:
Step 1: Wisdom…Gather
Find your centers of influence, which are in the following areas and reach out to them for wisdom/insight
- Political leaders/influencers
- Medical professional leaders
- Financial/Banker Professionals
- Legal Professionals
- Coaches/Management Consultants
- Read books on managing during recessions
Questions to ask
- What should I be preparing for now?
- What practical advice would you give me?
- Where should I spend my energy/focus?
- How can I be proactive given the current circumstance?
- How can I think differently to thrive in this situation?
- Who do you think I should be talking to?
- When do you think I should be making more dramatic decisions?
Step 2: Plan…Get Together
Get a group of trusted advisors together and set an agenda
- Revenue: What are the sources we can count on and how can we generate new sources?
- Expenses: What expenses should we keep in place, as they are an investment vs. things we can negotiate?
- People: How can we engage our internal people and external people to help become part of the solution?
- Capital: What do we have now and where can we look to obtain sources of capital to continue to succeed?
- Strategy: What simple, but powerful, steps can we put in place to strategically overcome obstacles in the way?
- Execution: What steps have we put in place to follow thru with our plan? How are we going to hold everyone accountable?
- Monitor: How are we going to track the results of what we chose to do?
Step 3: Do...Go and take action
- Start calendaring your ideas down
- Take one step at a time and focus on one step