How We Can Reshape Business and Make Better Decisions
How can better decisions be made in a constant state of uncertainty and flux? By not revering about the past and not referring to a historical reality as a normal to be restored. It’s not just about growth and getting bigger, it’s about getting better – building better businesses, having better processes, developing better people and doing so more effectively, having better efficiencies, and making better money. It’s about imaging newer and better business models and better places to work.
With economic disruption and labor force resignations, there’s now a huge opening to rapidly and dramatically improve how business and life work. Unfortunately, whether considering organizations or people, most won’t take major leaps forward because they’ll be waiting for the overused saying – a new normal. But those who see the possibilities through chaotic uncertainty, and move on them, will be more in charge of the direction of their businesses and lives.
Rather than adopt a mentality of ‘wait-and-see’, it’s best to adopt one of ‘move-and-refine’. There are lots of lasting impacts this pandemic will have on the world. Two that will be proven to be as enduring for business and life as they are valuable, are realizing how important flexibility and agility are in times of uncertainty and knowing that successful navigation of the future has little to do with experiences and successes of the past.
What I’m Recommending People Do
Though I’m a futurist, I’m not a fortune-teller but this is what I know for sure:
Knowing your numbers and what you’re working with will make decision-making far easier. Whether you’re working in a start-up, an established company, or a large corporation, when you don’t know your figures, you don’t know your business. From a personal perspective, when you don’t know your personal finances, you don’t know whether you’re in good shape or at risk of problems. Making important decisions from a place of uncertainty, because you don’t know where you stand, can make the simple task of getting in forward motion feel like an insurmountable feat. Minimize that extra layer of insecurity by getting comfortable with your finances. You should be able to access them and interpret them quickly and easily.
Being there for others will be appreciated and rarely forgotten. Despite my optimism for the future, it would be thoroughly unfair for me not to acknowledge the hurt, trauma, and fear millions of people and businesses are facing during this unprecedented time. I’ve been encouraging almost everyone, no matter what their circumstances, to offer help to those who need it. While each of us is deficient in some resources, we’re abundant in others. Our intellect, relationships, or monetary resources may serve others in ways they might not be able to serve themselves.
Being flexible around the people you work with, work for, and who you serve will be appreciated more than you know. A few months ago, just minutes before an important client call, one of my boys, Drew, ran to me having just incurred a toddler-stage accident in his pants. While changing his clothes, I dialed into the call using my Bluetooth headphones and began the conversation. Drew overheard the conversation and felt it was in his wheelhouse to talk business too. Though I initially apologized for the interference, my client just laughed with me and told me not to worry. That he completely understood and offered to speak to me once I got things under control meant he understood that life sometimes gets in the way of – or smashed into – business. We have to adapt, now more than ever. Just as we hope others will respect our new realities, we have to be respectful of others’.
Don’t pay much attention to ‘experts’. They’re either going to guess right or be wrong. It isn’t that their intentions come from a dark place or their advice or recommendations are bad; it’s that so much of it has one primary purpose – to get your attention so you’ll listen to them. There are many smart people out there but so much content is theoretical and non-specific, which means it can be relatable but not presented to be acted upon. Re-examine where you are and where you’re going so that you can bring the right people into your inner circle.
Move forward but don’t mistake busyness for progress. Like many of you, I sometimes feel like my days are blending together in repetition, like Bill Murray’s in the movie Groundhog Day. It’s easy to feel like having back-to-back calls and Zoom meetings means we’re moving forward but being constantly busy could mean we’re moving forward or it could mean we’re moving around in circles and making little progress. Set your new goals and determine how the culmination of small wins can get you there.
Imagine and re-imagine your business and life scenarios. Everything is going to change and then change again. If you’re not visualizing what your future might or could be, you might look more like Wylie E. Coyote running full-speed off a cliff in the dark of the night than a rational person taking smart risks and making calculated decisions.
Take a look at your business or life and ask and answer the following:
Despite past experiences and successes, why do we need to change the way we’re building the business/life and how we’re building?
Despite past experiences and successes, what is wrong with the way we’ve been building and running the business/life?
Despite past experiences and successes, how will this new direction change the way to work and live in the future?
Despite past experiences and success, how will this make business/life and work better?