Preparing for the Growth
The impact of COVID-19 has been deep and wide and whilst some businesses are benefiting from the current situation, many are not. Recognising this and wanting neither a devastated economy nor a seriously impaired health system, the government has done very well to tread a fine line between the two so far (refer to https://www.orgmentbusinesssolutions.com.au/resources for a list of the government benefit schemes on offer to assist businesses). Granted, we will be paying the price of the coronavirus for many decades to come, but right now our businesses and our doctors and nurses all need our support and I for one believe it is a price worth paying.
Having said that, much in the same way that bushfires are devastating but make way for new and stronger regrowth, so I believe it will be the same for our economy and Australian businesses. We still have somewhere around three to six months of real pain to go through, but I sincerely believe that as we escape from COVID-19’s clutches, so we will enter a new boom phase for Australian businesses and growth. I say this not just because I am an optimistic person (I am), but because I sincerely believe in Benjamin Franklin’s quote: “Out of Adversity comes Opportunity”.
So what are the reasons for my optimism? Well here are a few:
COVID-19 has imposed a real “pause” to the way we conduct business forcing us to re-evaluate our business models, look for greater efficiencies, establish or improve our systems and processes and explore new and diversified products and services. Many of us are now using tools like Zoom, Skype and Microsoft Teams like never before (In a message posted to Zoom users on 1st April (no kidding!), CEO Eric S. Yuan stated that in December Zoom had approximately 10 million daily users and by March that number had grown to 200 million) and I believe that far from returning to the way things were before, working from home and remote working will become far more widespread.
Companies and the government are going out of their way to keep staff employed rather than make people redundant. This is recognised by the majority of staff who are likewise playing their part by sacrificing salary and/or benefits in return for having something to go back to. This kind of mutual employer-employee breeds support, loyalty and underpins or establishes the basis of great culture which for me is the #1 indicator of sustained business success.
Our dependence on China, especially for manufactured goods has had to necessarily decrease over the past couple of months (it was hard to import materials when the disease was at its height over there) and with it has come a much greater appreciation for the true value of Australian manufacturing in terms of quality and responsiveness.
Shares (and hence company values) are very much undervalued right now, so investment in business and infrastructure will pay off when happy days are here again. In fact, my expectation is that as things do start to improve, many businesses simply won’t be able to keep up and those that do will be the ones who spent time on all the items above.
My message therefore is: use this valuable time wisely now. The single biggest issue I come up against when I work with business leaders is an expressed apparent lack of time, but the reality is, there is the same amount of time for all of us, it is how we prioritise and use it which is the key.
