How many times have you been to a workshop, a conference, listened to a TED talk and came out feeling inspired, punching the ceiling and thinking “that’s amazing!” “this would certainly help my business” “I need to implement this quickly” … and then done nothing about it?
Inspiration is the start of everything, a vision of what you would do, the excitement of future prospects, a solution to your problems, everything you need to increase results, solve issues and ultimately have a better business. But what does it all mean if it’s not actioned?
A friend sent me the link to a Ted Talk by Bill Gates from 2015 looking at the greatest risk of global catastrophe in our generation, a highly infectious virus! Bill Gates warns about the possibility of having a virus that spreads around the world quickly, a pandemic, and how this would be a serious problem if people still feel good enough with symptoms to be able to travel…. roll on 5 years and the world has stopped because of Coronavirus (Covid-19)!
Bill Gates challenges us to think about how ready we are for this, do we have a system, do we have reserves for our medical staff like we do for our military personnel? do we do simulations? do we invest in R&D to find vaccines? … I think we can all agree that no, we were not ready for Coronavirus…
The same happens in business, the future is coming faster than we expect it, maybe your sector is under threat by technology or your competitor is undercutting you because they have a leaner structure or work from remote … are you prepared? Do you have a system? have you run simulations of what might happen and put measures in place? Do you invest in your people?
“But all of this costs money”, I hear you say … yes, investment is required, but what is it compared to the real cost? Bill Gates predictions of a pandemic show possible losses of global wealth in the region of 3 trillion dollars…. yes you read that right, 3 TRILLION! What would be the real cost to your business if you couldn’t face the next challenge?
The markets yesterday collapsed with losses around 20%, unprecedented. Entire countries are in lockdown for a virus that spread East to West in the world, the economic cost of this pandemic is still not clear, but what is certain is that the cost of not being prepared will be massive, entire sectors in collapse, businesses going bust and millions lost in the markets have all already happened… how will this affect you and your business?
As an entrepreneur I believe in making mistakes, trying different ways until you find what works, but there are times when you need to prepare for the next steps, invest now, make a plan and more importantly TAKE ACTION, now.
And if you want to discuss how we can help your business thrive in these difficult economic conditions, please get in touch