Rebooting The Organization – Challenges And Rewards Ahead

The current lockdown will result in incredible innovation as entrepreneurs adapt to the present environment and think out of the box as they look to the future.  Ideas will be generated by existing organizations as well as from startups, and by people who lost their jobs due to the shutdown.

Each source represents opportunities as well as challenges to a marketplace that is certain to see changes from what we all considered “normal” as recently as a few months ago.

These innovations will span a wide range of industries and market segments.  Some will be in the obvious area of health care and related products and services.  We have already seen this in the companies that are developing more sophisticated and rapid virus tests, vaccines and other preventative measures as well as in the broad category of PPE.

Several technology products that enhance telecommuting, group meetings and broadband have already come to market, even as relatively new Zoom has become the “go to” vid conferencing tool and despite it having been hacked.  Examples of this are Google’s recent announcement of its new online conferencing Gallery View product and Facebook’s competing Messenger Rooms.

New stories and characters for movies and TV will be created as a result of the shutdown, and some will likely reflect the “new normal.”  With virtually all production currently halted, and release/broadcast dates delayed to later this year and into 2021, the development/production pipeline needs to be restarted soon to keep it full into the future.

As the economy begins to open and gains traction, regaining the rhythm of the pre-lockdown business environment is not a foregone conclusion.

When the US and global economies rise to the pre pandemic levels of high employment/historically low unemployment rates and solid consumer confidence, investors will know that the pent-up energy of the past few months needs a release.  Nothing quite spells success like a high energy team developing and coming to market in the new paradigm on the horizon.  In fact, it is quite possible that new development will occur at an accelerated rate.

Success requires a well thought out plan including a roadmap for execution.  A business plan without well thought out strategies & tactics is merely sheets of paper.  Investors know a solid business plan when they see one and will reject any that do not meet their standards.

Through the years, we have consulted with a wide range of companies, large and small, in business and strategic planning, reviews of operations and organizational analyses.  Following are our broad predictions of what many of the challenges and rewards may be as we move forward collectively as a society.

Challenges/risk factors

• Startups generally face the challenge of securing financing, of rapid and cost-effective product development, and, perhaps, most importantly, of assembling the right team that has the ability to implement the plan for the business.
• Businesses that had been operating for years will need to rethink the plan for their business. It is unlikely that it will be the same post lockdown as it was pre lockdown.  Reevaluating the business with fresh and current thinking after the hiatus is wise.
• Regaining the rhythm of daily operations may be difficult, especially if key people in the organization do not return.
• Furloughed employees may have been offered positions with other companies and may accept those offers as they reassess their careers.
• Existing businesses may not have enough capital to reboot their businesses at the same level as pre lockdown, thus hampering their ability to regain market traction quickly.
• Loan programs may not be structured to assist all existing businesses due to size of company, number of employees, location(s) and other factors.
• Existing businesses that operated adequately before the lockdown, albeit with operational and organizational deficiencies, may not be able to reboot efficiently in the new environment.
• Companies that furloughed or laid off significant numbers of staff may have a difficult time hiring quickly enough in the new environment to reboot their businesses, even if demand continues for their product or service.
• Critical supply chains vital for products and services may take time to ramp up again thus delaying the rebooting of their customers’ businesses.

Rewards/success factors

• A well thought out plan can reward the founders and the investors if the product/service gains traction in the marketplace in what may be a competitive environment.
• A few months ago with more job openings in the US than people available to fill them, finding the right team – not just management and the founders – was difficult. People were not changing jobs. The new environment may prompt many workers to seek new and different work, thus enabling companies to choose from the best available.  The labor market will be competitive.
• For those that retained their jobs during the crisis, their pent-up demand for products and services unavailable to them during the lockdown may prompt spending that would, in turn, fuel other businesses, thus creating a multiplier effect in various industries.
• Consumers who prefer the new ways of doing things during the lockdown may want to continue those ways under the “new normal.” Online purchasing has skyrocketed during the lockdown.  It will not revert to pre lockdown levels.
• When entertainment production resumes, the supply chain infrastructure, cameras, stages and, of course, personnel, are expected to benefit from the surge in demand.
• With the likelihood of a concerted effort to bring manufacturing back onshore, numerous business opportunities will be created, for new and existing businesses, and for jobs. This has the potential of changing the ways in which the products are manufactured, using newly created tools that bring economic as well as operational efficiencies at many points on the supply chain.

We have been successful in providing a knowledgeable and independent perspective to business. This experience will be valuable to companies attempting to gain traction in the new paradigm and new business environment that is on the horizon.

Getting back to work on the right foot is critical.  What was before may not be what is now in the new normal.

© The Shindler Perspective, Inc. 2020