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Are You Only Focused On The Short Term?

Cameron Finlay • Aug 11, 2020

When I look around I see leaders who are not looking far enough into the future.   We have all now gained experience of fairly chaotic times and so thinking needs to be directed beyond 'I hope things get better' to 'What if things are this way for another year (or two)?'.   So much depends on responses from Governments, and based on actions so far it is possible to surmise that business consequences are of less concern.

Even if there is a vaccine quite soon it will still take some time to reach production, and what if it doesn't work as it is expected?   Business still has to operate, so what will work for your business?

This is a painful conversation, so the key question to ask is, 'is it worthwhile?'   Google is not stupid (that is certainly not one of the things Google is) and has announced its employees will not return to the office before July 2021.   Perhaps this needs to be seen as a leading indicator of where things might be for the rest of us.

It could be worthwhile to look at even a 2 to 3 years horizon, it's possible any economic bounce back will not be even and there are likely no seamless and simple solutions.   Five steps to get you moving:

- Start preparing for a different future

- Take some time to reimagine your future before it becomes urgent and critical.   Stop being always in 'to-do mode'; decide between what is urgent and what is really important

- Consider different scenarios, the 'what if' questions.   What is the best-case scenario over the next 12 months?   Or the worst-case?   What could be the most likely scenario?

- Do some research.   Talk with customers, industry groups, think tanks (eg., Banks, research institutes).   Develop your theory on the insights you gather, because being better informed will assist in decision making

- Review the scenarios and consider what is needed or common for each.   What do you need to do to address   situations that may possibly occur?

There's nothing simple about being a leader at anytime, but it can be very helpful to keep things as simple as possible.   Don't get bogged down in the details by 'analysis paralysis'.

There are some great tools to make the plan and forecasts easier to use.   Ask for help if you need some guidance, even Where do I start?   What document(s) will I have at the end?   How do you do a forecast (or a scenario)?   We can help with the Tools, advice, or do the whole thing or somewhere in between.

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