In 2005, a powerful and surprising hurricane stuck us in South Florida. Power was out, roads were blocked, and employees were displaced. Responsible for the operations of a contact lens distribution company, I thought we had an adequate business continuity plan, but after an unthinkable ten days without power, that plan was tossed aside. We had built our plan around “reasonable” risks. This hurricane was anything but “reasonable”.
Today, you and I have stepped into the next unthinkable disaster. Business continuity plans built on “reasonable” assumptions have once again been tossed aside as irrelevant. If business continuity plans aren’t working, how can you plan for the next unthinkable disaster?
Maybe it’s not about the perfect business continuity plan, maybe it’s about consciously building your company to be disaster resistant.
So what are disaster resistant models? I don’t pretend to have all the answers to this important question, but I can share three business models that companies who successfully weathered Hurricane Wilma in 2005 and are now successfully surviving and even growing during this pandemic have in common.
After reading these, I would urge you to consider how these might apply to your business. Why? Because these models will support you, your business and your employees to remain whole during the next unthinkable disaster. Also, they will contribute to the overall value of your company even in times of calm and prosperity. In short, a true win-win in business.
Ok, here are three business models many companies growing in this pandemic have in common:
They have an E-commerce Business Not Fulfilled by Amazon
Their Management and Support Employees Already Regularly Work Virtually
They Operate in a Regulated Industry
As you might have guessed, E-commerce businesses, those without retail locations, are faring pretty well during this pandemic.
What you might not know is that thousands of E-commerce businesses have been forced out of the market when the ‘Fulfilled by Amazon’ (FBA) program shifted its focus to essential products only. FBA customers, those who let Amazon be their sole fulfillment partner, are scrambling to recover. While businesses that invested in their own warehousing and fulfillment capabilities are still able to meet all of their customer demands. In fact, businesses with fulfillment capabilities are now adding those customers that FBA can’t or won’t service. You having an E-commerce Business Not Fulfilled by Amazon is a critical differentiator for your company in this market.
In the past few weeks, we’ve all been in meetings with Zoom virgins. It’s clearly their first time on video. And when they’ve incorrectly muted themselves, you can hear them mutter they can’t wait until they get back into the office.
It may be hard to believe, but there are management teams out there not missing a beat in their communication. They know how to use chat, the breakout rooms, how to raise their hand… all of the Zoom features that enhance productivity.
They have this level of expertise because they’re practiced in remote video communication. Instead of joining from their kitchen table with a thirty-year-old green refrigerator in the background, they have a place already set up in their home to communicate.
In addition, these virtual management teams have a real time app active during business hours so they can instantaneously communicate with each other. Please consider how your management and support teams will maintain their virtual work skills after the pandemic.
Highly regulated businesses such as pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and alcohol tend to grow and decline in a way that doesn’t match the overall economy. The drivers in these businesses are hard timelines or “essential” life purchases. For instance, pharmaceutical drug discovery is done with an urgency not often seen from outside the business. While a drug is being commercialized, a day delay directly transfers to a day of missed sales in the market. As a result, companies providing services to companies engaged in pharmaceutical discovery and commercialization will seldom see a break in the urgency for any disaster or economic downturn.
This is one example of Operating in a Regulated Industry business model. How could this work for your company?
How is your company disaster resistant? I’m interested in your thoughts and experiences. Would love to hear from you, please comment or share. Wishing you safety and health.
This COVID-19 pandemic is super frightening, and also can be especially distracting as you and I seek to find new information about it throughout the day, productive time replaced by worry and obsession.
Recently, this obsession was highlighted for me, and I made some changes to positively refocus and refresh that I wanted to share with you. I’ll detail these for you shortly, but first a quick, relevant story…
A few weeks ago, during a time after COVID-19 had taken over the headlines but before local quarantine, I was cruising south on I95 between my home in Boca Raton and a client in North Miami.
I was distracted thinking about the awful news from China and South Korea concerning the spread of this virus by people who weren’t even showing symptoms. Truthfully, I was feeling fearful and anxious, and learning and processing new information about COVID-19 was something closer to an obsession for me in those moments at 75mph in the left-hand lane.
It started three lanes to my right, almost imperceptibly. A white Mercedes GLE moved erratically, suddenly shifting right a few feet. Reflexively my driving skills, courtesy of my Dad who was my High School Driver’s Ed teacher, engaged. I began to break even before I could verbalize that a problem was beginning. My mind was still firmly in a COVID-19 place of sourcing N95 masks, gloves and Purell, but catching up rapidly.
Then things got a little more dangerous. The white GLE veered across four lanes of traffic heading for a spot just in front of me. The car and driver, seemingly in a struggle between trying to regain and losing control, lurched and turned erratically. Chaos won, and the car began spinning in a 360 in front of me as I braked aggressively and shifted over a lane praying I had room to do so. Narrowly missing the spinning car by a few feet, my senses were heightened and driving skills were working at maximum capacity.
Within a few more seconds, we were stopped along with all southbound traffic on that stretch of I95, the White GLE on the left shoulder facing the wrong way, and me stopped one lane over about 20 feet away. No one was hurt and amazingly, no car was even damaged. After a few deep breaths, we were all heading in the right direction towards our appointments.
Even though I was completely distracted, my great driving skills (thanks Dad) came through for me. The skills that I had practiced many times were unconsciously triggered and literally saved my life. And, could I have avoided intense discomfort and aggressive braking by being more present in my moments on the road? Absolutely.
Two lessons to share from this near miss:
Dealing with a huge problem like COVID-19 can be super distracting, bordering on obsessive for me. I now set aside a specific block of time to monitor the news feeds and worry instead of checking throughout the day. For me that’s 30 minutes from 8am-8:30am, and when that 30 minutes is over I do my best to be present.
You and I have skills that have been honed and practiced over the years, and they are there for us in times of crisis. In my case, driving skills saved me. My leadership, business, comforting my wife or parenting my children skills are just as practiced, and I’m confident they will show up when I need them.
A few questions for you:
When have you recently been jarred back to moments of clarity?
What skills do you know that you have and can rely on during this time?
What new skills are you learning during this crisis?
Interested in your thoughts and experiences. Would love to hear from you, please comment or share. Wishing you safety and health.
It’s normal to be fearful in a time like this. Many of the questions we are asking ourselves come from that fear. Yet, there’s one more question to ask now, The #1 Question to Ask NOW. I will share this question with you soon.
First, let me note that this question may seem insensitive when so many are suffering. Yet it’s important for leaders like you and me to ask it. Great leaders ask uncomfortable questions seeking perhaps even more uncomfortable answers. They intimately understand the talents of their team, and find innovative ways to maximize results, especially in times of great stress.
Let me share an example with you.
My client, the Chief Operating Officer of a large electronics distributor, is very worried. His rapidly growing e-commerce business is dependent on the fast, accurate and inexpensive supply chain he built. Now the world seems to have shifted, and he’s reacting to forces outside of his control. Things have changed so rapidly, he struggles to find the “right” question to ask. He’s already launched the Supply Chain Business Continuity Plan he created a few years ago. Clearly his Crisis Leadership is being tested, and deep down he’s not sure he’s up for the task.
I jump on a Zoom Video call with him. “With so many unknowns relating to COVID-19,” he wasn’t sure exactly what to ask so he started with…
“Who are my people with existing health and financial risks?”
“When do I send my office staff home?”
“How will I manage this if my partner is sick?”
“How do I care for my family and business when I’m in a quarantine zone?”
“Could the company run out of cash?”
These are all great questions.
Ones that require answers he and I are working through together. And, these questions are largely focused on survival. Survival is a natural instinct. When we’re under great stress, our natural instincts exert control. Fight or flight, living on adrenaline, feeling we could literally die. These feelings are so intense, they can overpower and render useless the skills we’ve acquired being successful business leaders.
Before we go down this survival rabbit hole, we owe it to ourselves, our businesses and communities to ask one more question, The #1 Question to ask NOW.
I asked this question of my client. “When you look back on this COVID-19 pandemic, what will you say were your biggest successes?” “Oh,” he said “you’re asking me what’s important right now in addition to surviving?” “Yes” I replied.
He paused and thought for only a few seconds. The answers were obvious to him, yet he hadn’t verbalized them to anyone until this moment.
“Full employment for my team”
“Remain profitable”
“Support at least one new competitive talent or business advantage to emerge from this terrible situation.”
“That I’m present for my family, and they know I care.”
In that moment, I saw him shift from nervously reacting to forces outside of his control to strategically and courageously leading his company. His purpose is back, and it’s much greater than simply surviving.
Now, let me ask you this question. The #1 Question to ask NOW. When you look back on this COVID-19 pandemic, what will you say were your biggest successes?
Will you take such great care of your customers, they’ll work with you for life?
Will you go the extra mile for your employees’ families?
Will you take time for quiet moments with your daughter or son home from school?
Will you share how you feel with your partner or advisor, opening a new, deeper level of connection?
What positive thing will emerge from this terrible situation?
Interested in what comes up for you. Please comment or message me and let me know. I would love to hear from you.
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