Episode 1 – What are you even talking about?
Lockdown 2020
Just as the lockdown occurred in 2020, I reached out to leaders in my network and asked them several strategic questions. I did this as a hedge against falling into the void for myself and possibly for them if it served that purpose.
The responses were obviously shaded with fear and concern, as well as toughmindedness that ended up enabling most of them to survive and even thrive during the lockdown.
How did you make it and thrive?
Then, when the dust seemed to settle in 2022, I went back to those same leaders and asked them how they survived the apocalypse. The responses are a treasure chest of business counsel that stands the test of time in good times or bad.
The following are a few comments from these leaders after the apocalypse…which didn’t really happen, especially the way the media portrayed it. The world did not end, but unfortunately there was plenty of collateral damage and lives lost.
3 Strategies from Leaders that Thrived
- We never shut down after 1 week of stopping.
This was one of my favorite answers of all. The small to medium sized manufacturing leader just didn’t listen to the fear mongering and pressed forward.
Perhaps this is because operators of small to medium sized manufacturing companies face cataclysm with almost every decision they make, so this episode was just another day at the office for them. For once, the general public felt what a manufacturing leader feels most of the time, the edge of chaos, near misses, sudden changes and so much more.
- 2. We focused on sales.
This comment seems so obvious and probably the best possible use of time during any challenge. Focus on what we can do for others. How can we create value for the other guy and help him grow his business?
Focusing on sales is the key to all fast growth and surviving companies. Once the customer focused vision is lost, value creation is lost as well.
- 3. Went to work every day, focused on my work and kept working.
This leader added some of the following in our discussion. “Control what you can control. Delegate what you can delegate. Focus on making progress right now on the highest priority. Let go of those things you cannot control.” Pure wisdom.
Look for more insights from the survivors of the apocalypse in future posts.