The world has changed dramatically in many different ways during the past few months.
You know this and you have probably been working triple-overtime adjusting to all of changes.
Suggestion: Call a brief time-out soon to take a good hard look at your new environment. Ask yourself and your team these questions with both the short-term and long-term in mind:
What is going on with your Customers? How have their needs and wants changed? It would be smart to ask them in focus groups or interviews. What changes might they want and need in the products and services you offer? Perhaps show them some new product ideas (minimal viable products) to gauge their interest.
How are your Collaborators doing? Are your suppliers going to continue to be available moving forward? If not, you may need to find new sources or take on a new set of activities. If an organization that offered an important complementary product/service is going out of business, then maybe you need to develop that capacity.
Are your Competitors thriving or even still surviving? Sadly, many organizations – for-profit and nonprofit – have gone out of business and others will. We are still experiencing the initial shock waves of these changes. If you are one of the fortunate ones to survive, then their customers may need you.
What past Assumptions do you need to reevaluate? It would be smart to have your team articulate all of the assumptions that your strategy has been based on in recent years and then reassess all of them.
As a result of this new Environmental Assessment you will probably get clearer on some of your short and long term Challenges. And, perhaps more importantly, you may identify new Opportunities for products, services, and customers that you had not seen before.
Keep an eye on the changes you identify and start taking some dedicated time at regular meetings with the team to review all of this again. Thriving in this environment will require a clear understanding of the changes and the ability to pivot quickly.
