New Normal

It has been a little while since my last blog, hardly necessary to explain why. I hope you are safe and well in these very sad and trying times.

Us tech bods have been rather popular over the last month and for good reason. Business continuity plans are being fully tested and any gaps in those plans are glaring. It is not the time to say “I told you so”, it’s time to get on and get those gaps sorted so that people can work while on lock-down. It is also time to think about what next:

Move fast

Aotearoa is full of small to medium businesses, hence most of the Governments financial help is concentrated in that area. For those businesses I believe it is time to make some courageous moves. NZ is full of creative, practical and innovative people well respected throughout the world. During my 25 years overseas, my pride in NZ was based on this perception, mixed in with a few chats about the beauty of the country. For many of these creative hard working types, bold new changes will seem second nature but for some there will be a temptation to play it safe. Now is not the time! ( Be safe in your bubble of course, but that’s not what I mean). There is a very real correlation between companies that adopt digital technologies early, assign the appropriate resources against digital initiatives and high value gain from doing so. We may be thinking that technology moves very rapidly already, before the crisis, post COVID digital change WILL move even faster.

So what does “making courageous moves” mean

At this point you will have at least put in an incident management team to coordinate your crisis response. This team will be responsible for crucial strategic information, monitoring the needs of your clients and keeping an eye on competitor moves.  Document the changes to your business to reduce risk and use this forum to look ahead for possible problems and opportunities. Keep an eye out for issues that will cause significant disruption to your industry as the pandemic continues. Just as digital has disrupted businesses in the past, this crisis will cause similar industry level changes, not just changes in your finances, but new ways of delivering for your clients/customers and working with suppliers.

Many companies are looking for virtual replacements for their previously physical offerings, or at least new ways of making them accessible with minimal physical contact. These new ways of working can often involve new partnerships or the need to access new digital marketplaces in which your company has yet to participate. As you engage with new partners and platforms, look for opportunities to move beyond your comfort level, while getting visibility into the places you can confidently invest valuable time, people, and funds to their best effect. Call upon that creative innovative Kiwi practicality mentioned above to address tricky problems and explore ideal future states. Concentrate on the UX (User experience) first, this will help you understand how suppliers, partners, and competitors are responding to the crisis, and how the industry that includes them all is evolving for the next “New Normal”.

Get help

There are plenty of top quality advisory companies here. I know I work at one (Not naming it, this is not a tout for work). You will gain better insight and learn quicker, speed is key to these changes. “Two heads are better than…” “A problem shared…” and so on, there are plenty of clichés to back up this idea. Collaborating with other external advisors around your ever changing needs will help with mindsets and behaviours fostering a willingness to try the new. A final saying, “Necessity is the mother of all invention”. For many of us carrying on with business as usual post crisis may we spell out the beginning of the end. Taking this opportunity to rise to the challenge and rethink the old normal, to picture how our services will look in a vastly different digital age and act upon our new ideas will involve some very courageous moves indeed.