Lessons I’m learning about myself & my business during COVID-19

lessons-I-am-learning-about-myself-and-my-business-during-COVID-19

This crisis is, in my humble opinion, a test of character for me and I would say for many other people.

It has put everything I care for, value and taken for granted on notice. Not that I wasn’t aware of or didn’t pay attention to these things before. I am a very attentive and purposeful person; however, this pandemic has put everything on the table for a thorough examination.

I recall, as the COVID-19 shutdown hit, the very first thing I did was gather my team together and I said this:

“Our number one goal is to stay together and stay in business.

We’ve worked too hard to let all of our good work go to waste.

We will manage our costs and reduce where we can and then we will prepare for the future.

While everyone is going to need some time to get their heads around what is happening to their businesses, their customers and supply chains, we are going to get ready a range of sales resources and support for them so they can get selling again and can keep their businesses going and people in jobs.

This is what we are great at and this is what we are going to help them address, when they are ready.

We are going to keep selling, marketing and engaging with our clients and others to help them navigate their way through this storm. By having their backs we will have our own.”

This has been our focus from pretty much day one of the shutdown. But the interesting thing is that this has always been our focus as a business all along.

Our purpose, our true north made it easier to focus our efforts on what is important. It also continued to unite us on our journey together.

We were and are determined to find ways for help people and businesses sell better, even during and beyond a pandemic.

Lesson: The power of purpose to unite and energise

With this in mind we then focused our efforts on analysis, planning and execution:

  • The mechanisms, costs and value of working remotely
    • Team cohesion, culture, communication and productivity
    • Costs of office rent – do we stay remote?
    • Setting up the right technology
  • Primary business and sales strategy and model
    • Customer care and retention strategies
    • Determining viable market segments
    • Exploring current and new products and services
    • Exploring current and new sales revenue streams
  • Secondary business and sales strategy and model
    • Bringing forward new and adaptive strategies
    • Exploring new relationships, markets and customer segments
    • Opening up new markets, products, services, etc.
  • Leadership, the Business Culture and Our Collective Future
    • What can and does our future look like?
    • What does leadership need to look like?
    • How do I/we handle ourselves and provide stewardship and leadership

These are just some of the things that have occupied my and my team’s mind over the last 3-4 months.

Lesson: The power of strategy and disciplined execution

As I’ve written earlier, we are all in the same storm, but we are not all in the same boat.

If we pay attention, we get to learn a lot about each other’s character and what is important from listening to each other, our clients, our families, and others we engage with and speak to.

What we’ve found is that some, personally and professionally, are sailing through the situation unscathed while others are struggling to make ends meet and stay in business.

So it’s been interesting to see those who carry themselves with dignity and grace even during the toughest situations and those who do not.

Which brings me to a quote that caught my attention during the early stages of the COVID-19 crisis:

‘A crisis does not develop character, it reveals character.’

It made me pay extra attention to how I and others behave and handle these perilous conditions.

The pandemic is affecting people, businesses, communities and governments in a myriad of ways.

It’s also revealing our own characters.

So what is character? It is the aggregate of features and traits that form the individual nature of some person or thing. For people it also includes our moral or ethical qualities as individuals, teams, businesses and societies.

Some people are magnificent leading the way with clarity and purpose, while others are out of control and creating mayhem and panic, and then there are those who are somewhere in between. I know you are already seeing certain people flash before your eyes as you read this.

The impact of our character through behaviour and actions does affect others for better or for worse, especially in times like this. 

I know that at times during this crisis I have been feeling very tired, frustrated and under duress; however, I have always tried to do right by my team, my family, clients and others I come into contact with.

I’ve always endeavoured to lead my life from a place of doing good and do no harm. Which is why I particularly like this quote:

‘I try to do good in the world not out of fear for hell or reward for heaven, but because it feels better not to be an asshole’.  

So ask yourself these 4 questions:

  1. How do I handle myself under pressure?
  2. How do I want to handle myself under pressure?
  3. How do I want to present myself and lead in a crisis and beyond?
  4. How do I want to be perceived and remembered by others?

 ‘I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.’  Maya Angelou

Lesson: Our character can grow and evolve over time, and it is true: ‘a crisis reveals character’.

Remember, everybody lives by selling something.

Related topics

How to stay open for business: Selling Better during this crisis and beyond.

It’s time to look ahead. It’s time to get selling.

The Time is NOW for Purposeful Optimism.

A year ago (roughly)

Why ‘Coaching with Compassion’ leads to healthier coaches

One Comment

  • Sandra McDonald says:

    Wonderful article Sue, and cause for reflection, on how I and others I know handle the crisis. I like to think of it with grace, fortitude and resolve, although the current lockdown has induced a feeling of glumness. Sometimes one needs to a bit of rolling with the punches to work out what really matters. Your article is timely.