Business Focus Should Now Be On Post-COVID Readiness

18th Sep , 2020

By Christine Cartney, September 2020

COVID-19 has permanently changed how we operate our businesses and also substantially altered how we think that our businesses should operate in the future.

Business leaders must lead from the front and deal with their business’s wider and immediate challenges to drive home the success that their business and their people should be aimed at. They must also look to the future business approach and configuration in order to successfully compete in the future and deliver longer term performance.

At International Business Mentors, our business mentoring professionals are seeing rapid changes in:

• Markets to volumes demand, prices and new market entrants and departures
• Competitor behaviours pressures on market share in price sensitive markets
• Customer demands are changing fast depending on their own economic priorities
• Service and product delivery have increased and gone faster to online platforms
• Organisational changes have been forced to cope with rapidly changing markets with delivery changes. Made more difficult with increased remote working and pandemic security measures put in place for staff and customers
• Distributed people – People working remotely has increased the use of online meeting platforms and raised the need for management to remotely manage, lead and monitor contributions. Online meeting forums for business interactions are evolving, making it important to get better at running efficient and effective online meetings to maintain and enhance productivity and leadership contribution
• Competitive strategy has evolved quickly with the wide changes happening in many markets, and the evolution required will produce winners and losers in each industry and market
• Online take up of ordering by retail customers and businesses has been substantial and only businesses geared up for this will be able to satisfy the demand from this on-liner demand

Business leaders need to harness these changes and set a new business emphasis to re-focus the strategy and all key people to grow businesses leveraging of these changes.

Which Businesses Should Re-Focus?

This need to re-focus applies to all businesses whether they are prospering or struggling in the short term. Even those prospering need a good solid plan for the medium term to ensure success is built on further. And for those businesses struggling, they need to exercise tight controls and be fleet of foot in their markets to increase their chances of success and survival. Specifically, they should stimulate demand from customers, control their cost structures and motivate their key people to take up challenges now.

Business planning for the next business cycle is now imperative, and you should:

• Urgently define any significant changes you have already made
• Prioritise the changes that you will adopt permanently
• Plan what will need to be reinstated, altered or reversed

For these areas, a business mentor or coach can provide invaluable support for business leaders.

How Our Business Mentors Can Help

At International Business Mentors, we understand that businesses have different challenges, which is why we match you with an appropriate business mentor or business coach.

Some business mentoring challenges require highly detailed involvement to address the wide commercial challenges of a business, while others may be more focused, but all require a confidential and independent sounding board, and confidential support. And that is where one of our business mentors can assist you.

Some current examples of business challenges or opportunities from our clients include:

• Business plans updates and monitoring
• Cost reduction programmes
• Dealing with and communicating effectively with lenders and shareholders
• Dealing with the evolving GEO political landscape
• Due diligence and acquisitions
• Ensuring that customers are at the heart of the organisation
• Firming up on the revised purpose, mission and values
• How to leverage up the business using new technologies, including AI
• Innovation and growth approaches
• Reassessing strategy
• Relocation of head offices and right-sizing property requirements
• Re-negotiating with suppliers
• Securing cultural and organisational change to meet new market challenges
• Support mechanisms for staff
• Tightening cyber security

Our business mentors and business coaches can support you and challenge you to work through your business challenges and opportunities, helping you to develop and improve your business performance. Contact International Business Mentors today to get your own business mentor or business coach.