Feel the fear and do it anyway … as the commercial says. Buy time with prudent, creative actions … think and rethink before you act. But act in the time frame necessary to resolve the problems in front of you so you can get to the ones you cannot yet see! The great basketball coach, John Wooden, insisted that his players understand and apply the following principle. It applies to both basketball and management decision-making.
You will find that this approach is never more important than at times of crisis and mounting troubles. Be quick … but don’t hurry! It is management’s job to be able to assess the operating environment for today and tomorrow and to adjust to the changes as they occur. Disruptions will occur and reoccur. Ideally, managers should pick up early on the trends and reposition the company before there are any lasting detrimental impacts from these “outside” forces.
All of the FACTORS in the following areas of the business have a notable effect on financial results. All of your plans, even in a crisis, should take these factors into account. Let’s take a quick look at the full list, so you can better understand that statement and, in some manner, rank the level of input priority each group of factors should have … first in survival plans and then in longer-term thrive plans.