“We are called to be architects of the future, not its victims”
We are all struggling with what some are referring to as the “new normal”. Life is not the same as it was before March 2020 and it will never return to that state. So we are all adjusting – in both our personal and business lives. As a friend recently said to me, it’s important to maintain a LIFE / work balance.
There are some great advantages to Zoom – no travel time, you can get together cost effectively from anywhere that has an internet connection and we’re learning to be more effective communicators….. But Zoom is NOT the same as in person meetings.
I’ve been thinking about the changes I need to continue to make in my business practices and here are some thoughts that I think are relevant to others as well, based on some talks I’ve attended recently.
First – the economic situation. I recently heard a talk entitled “Navigating the COVID-19 Recovery” presented by Frances Donald, Global Chief Economist and Global Head of Macroeconomic Strategy at Manulife Investment Management. After acknowledging that the situation is quickly evolving and traditional data sources can’t keep up and that the situation is different from any that came before, she discussed the expected recovery in North America.
In summary – we need to prepare our businesses and lives now for a new future and in most industries a slow recovery.
In another webinar, I heard Josh Linker - https://joshlinkner.com/ and his talk was “Big Little Breakthroughs: How Small, Everyday Innovations Drive Oversized Results” and that by boosting your creativity 2. by just 5% it can be your competitive edge to success. One of the examples that he used is a company in South Korea who packages 7 bananas in one package (one per day) going from ready to eat to very green. They charge 3 times the going rate for bananas and the packages fly off the shelves.
I also heard a talk by Mike Walsh, https://www.mike-walsh.com/ futurist and commentator on digital innovation talking about “New Rules for a New World”.
He said that digital disruption is now just digital delivery. The pandemic has accelerated the digital transformation of the world by 5 to 10 years.
Now is the time to take a look at the long held beliefs or habits in your organization that you would love to change, but before now the time never seemed right. My example of this in action is in the restaurant business. The small business that are growing now are those who changed their menus and the way they prepared and delivered food to thrive during the pandemic. The ones who are waiting for “life to return to normal” are closing down.
We all need to evolve and transform3 to thrive in this new normal. Relationships with your employees, colleagues and clients are more important than ever.
What can you do in your business or life to improve your success rate? .
I differentiate myself from the roughly 45,000 insurance agents in Ontario, 17,000 advisors in Canada who hold a CFP by specializing in group insurance. Since most of my clients are small companies with less than 30 employees, I also send out information to them about employee related issues. I’m currently reviewing my offering and how I present myself to strengthen my value to my clients based on the recent talks I’ve attended. I am constantly evolving my business.
So what can you do personally to improve your life and your business? Let’s talk about our businesses and see what we can learn from each other. Feel free to book a call or Zoom meeting with me at https://calendly.com/heather-f/coffee-chat
NOTES:
1 “Navigating the COVID-19 Recovery” presented by Frances Donald, Global Chief Economist and Global Head of Macroeconomic Strategy, Manulife Investment Management.
Phase 1 (mid April to August), the Rapid Rebound, was mostly fueled by two things – the world didn’t completely fall apart (people’s expectation) and the huge influx of government stimulus. In the USA, wages fell by ~$1 Trillion and the government transferred up to ~$3 Trillium resulting in personal income going up an average of 14% year over year.
Phase 2 (where we currently are), is the Stall out. The economy is down about 30% compared to prior levels. Manufacturing is still recovering, but other businesses including personal services are still stalled, primarily due to social distancing restrictions. FYI - the stock market is composed of ~30% manufacturing.
Phase 3 – Full Economic recovery, Manulife doesn’t think that this will occur until 2022 when social distancing returns to normal. Interest rate recovery and government debt control in their opinion will take 5 to 10 years until “normalization”.
2. Josh Linker - https://joshlinkner.com/ talked “Big Little Breakthroughs: How Small, Everyday Innovations Drive Oversized Results”
He talked about developing a culture of innovation (https://joshlinkner.com/creativity-keynote-speaker/crafting-creative-teams/ ) using 9 steps to boost creativity
Another example of Creativity would be the Hasboro board game, Monopoly. They have 21 different versions, one to fit everyone - https://brilliantmaps.com/monopoly/ - including the Cheaters Edition - https://monopoly.hasbro.com/en-us/product/monopoly-game-cheaters-edition:020C27CB-55DA-442A-B73B-B5C3CED8FCDA (apparently 60% of people do not follow the rules) and Ms Monopoly - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ms._Monopoly where the women collect more money than the men.
3 Mike Walsh, https://www.mike-walsh.com/ futurist and commentator on digital innovation talking about “New Rules for a New World”.
Now is the time to reimagine your interactions, redesign your interfaces and rethink what you offer your clients and how you deliver your goods or services to them.
Using a couple of big corporation examples, Tesla is not a car company, it’s an AI company, as without the technology advances they have, they do not have a car. Similarly, Amazon is using data to understand what you are going to order before you do, so that they have it in stock to ship as soon as you place your order.
Check out his book – “The Algorithmic Leader” - https://www.mike-walsh.com/algorithmic-leader - and his podcasts - https://www.mike-walsh.com/podcast - to learn more.