Corona Scare: No lockdown on your business expansion plans

• Umesh Kr Bansal, Senior Vice President, ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd writes how everyone is reconsidering their business strategies and before that the immediate cash flows.
• He further lists down how businesses can formulate a strategy and bring around the change.

A few months ago, we heard of a secretive bug that we did not think more than a disease like pneumonia, however little did we know that it would bring the world to a standstill sooner than imagined. The lockdowns will go away eventually, but all assumptions, standards, processes, have been reset. Businesses are affected across geographies, sizes, categories and industries. Everyone is reconsidering their business strategies and before that the immediate cash flows. In such a scenario it is imperative to understand that when the virus is beaten and the crisis is over, a world may emerge with more alterations to adapt to. Thus, if the virus is changing your business landscape, fret not! Formulate a strategy and bring around the change.

1. Some struggle, others flourish: The outbreak has opened a window of opportunity for some industries/ sectors such as health, digital content, OTT / streaming, EdTech, online gaming stacks, and such other businesses that have seen a perceptible rise in demand.

2. Use technology to augment, not replace, people: Technology has allowed us to rethink how we perform fundamental activities during this crisis. This period should be looked at as an opportunity for business leaders to discover how best we can make greater use of technology to assist people to attain maximum productivity gains, develop the working lives of employees, deliver better products and services to the patrons and help drive growth.

3. Focus on scenario planning: Scenario planning is one of the strategy gears that comes handy in a situation like this. Designing options and decision trees can provide clarity, reduce anxiety and help make better decisions for the organization. As the dynamic of business changes, it is crucial to alter the process, content and designs to enable continued alignment of resources, and actions with priorities to achieve the outcome.

4. Need to press the reset button on the new 3 P's: Position, plan, and preparedness: a question mark on viability of the firm itself is a likely scenario post-pandemic depending upon the nature of the business. But even the most impacted organizations are taking up the challenge and going out to find opportunity in adversity. The first step is to accept the protracted nature of this situation, followed by determination to be proactive and setting a willingness within the organization to reset expectations, goals as well as resource allocations.

5. Prepare a plan for bouncing back: It is Imperative to understand the ways to restore, expand the business. Therefore, think, deeply, broadly and continue looking forward.

6. New project preparation: Timely assessment of the situation and the organisation will keep you in good stead. Have you planned and prepared well enough for the project you outlined in the recent past? Check for the resources at hand, availability of the team, at the same time quality and quickness of the decision making process. If organisation has ticked all the essential boxes that will conclude who succeeds and who falls short of success.