Our personal and business lives can become crowded with activities that steal away from us the potential downtime that we can effectively use to re-imagine those ideals that have taken us to where we are now.  Our lives and our businesses or roles in society become static, not because we choose them to be so but because of our inability to squeeze in reflective time to look back and look forward.

COVID 19is providing us with an amazing space within which to re-image our business.

The most significant opportunity that has come from the current crisis is the forced creation of the virtual workforce. Three weeks ago many had never heard of Zoom but suddenly it has become omnipresent in business and many businesses find themselves operating primarily from home.

Your business opportunity is here right now to re-imagine your business after COVID 19.

Ask yourself:

Could my business emerge after this crisis like the butterfly from the chrysalis? 

Could my business learn to operate with more staff permanently or regularly working from home? Would they be happier, are there potential savings and benefits? 

 Are there business opportunities appearing that weren’t there before COVID19 that are beneficial to my business? New or different areas to operate in? New products or services you could provide? New staff, that you can now access in any geographical location?

Are there technology solutions that could reduce costs or provide new or different relationships with your customers? 

Take this time to make a set time every day when you reflect on the possible and the new, there has never been a better time to use your time to re-imagine the future, your future.

The author, John Hanby, has spent the majority of his consulting life working with businesses and individuals helping them re-imagine themselves and their businesses.

“At Bizcertainty, the only thing we’re certain about is that unless you keep re-imagining the future of your business, your business future is uncertain.” 

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A Sense of Gratitude

Never look at what you have lost… look at what you have left. Add up your joys and never count your sorrows. Focus on Giving instead of Getting.

A Sense of Optimism

Welcome tomorrow for every new day creates new opportunities. Every problem has a peak and then it’s downhill all the way. Unexpected sources of help come from unexpected quarters.

A Sense of Opportunity

Find a need and fill it, find a hurt and heal it, find a problem and solve it. Enthusiasm turns on a bright light in a dull face.

Mental Toughness

When you face a crisis the first thing to do is to stop! Don’t act. Just think!
Imagine a positive outcome form all of this, one that keeps your self-view intact and healthy.

The me I see is the me I’ll be

Nothing is more important than your own self-confidence and your own self-image. If I cannot see it, I will never be it, I will never achieve it.

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If you’ve ever made sourdough bread you’ll know that you require a starter. No starter, no bread. Good bakers treasure their starters because they’ve had them for years and the taste and quality of their sourdough bread is determined by the quality of their starter.
It seems to me that your best staff are like a starter. What does a baker do to maintain their starter and how does this apply to you?

1. Tend to it every day: It makes sense to remember that your best staff give you the least problems and therefore deserve the majority of your time. Use the 80/20 rule and divide your time and attention accordingly. Let your most important staff know that they are important to you by paying attention to them.
2. Feed it daily with quality flour: As the baker remembers to take care of their starter each day, so a good manager should adopt the same habit. Keep them informed by feeding them with all of the pertinent information to give them confidence in the business and belief that it will still be around at the end of the crisis.
3. Use it in every loaf: A sourdough loaf requires the use of the starter in every loaf. Involve your best staff in every aspect of your business and let them see that their involvement is critical to you and the continuation of the business.
4. The starter works on the flour and water to swell the dough: Recognise that the input and involvement of your best staff will grow your business and do the heavy lifting for you. Don’t try to do it all yourself, your best staff will want to be involved in keeping your business going.
5. The future of a bakery relies on the starter remaining healthy: Take care of your best staff, talk to them, involve them in planning the future, remember to tell them that you value them and will always want them in the business.

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The single biggest surprise for me in terms of how participants managed stress effectively was the belief that pushing themselves in strenuous activities to achieve better performances in the gym or on the bike or in running a distance was seen by many as a great way of de-stressing.

For me, stress can be both a positive and a negative and recognising these possible aspects of stress and addressing each one individually is essential for a strong body and mind.

Working within a crisis environment requires strength and resilience and finding the most effective way of dealing with stressors for yourself will be essential.

1. Build in a morning ritual to the day that allows you to put positive energy into your reserve tank. This may take on the guise of a brisk walk, a quiet walk, some reflective time looking at the trees and listening to the birds, whatever works for you.
2. Find calmness in your journey to work. Listen to Classic FM and allow yourself to quietly avoid the crazy announcers and constant references to COVID 19 and death toll updates.
3. Listen to and address problems with calmness, quiet introspection and constructive communications to others. Be the leader in your business who inspires calm and confidence.
4. Respond to issues rather than reacting to them. Stop yourself from holding your breath and breathe deeply and into your belly.
5. Acknowledge that this crisis has a substantial timeline and will require your added attention and strength and pace yourself as though you are about to run in the Melbourne Cup.
6. Try to see opportunities in problems and celebrate the small victories when they come. Share the good news moments with your staff, customers, family and anybody else who would like to listen, we’re all in need of positive news.

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