Back in September I attended an online seminar, C.R.A.S.H – delivered by @Dent.Global, all about recession-proofing your business, many entrepreneurs were in attendance. It was full excellent content. But the stand-out subject matter, for me, was the importance of taking care of the business leader through what will undoubtedly be a challenging period.
For myself, having been through several recessions now, I know the economy will always bounce back. The key, for SME’s, is to stay one step ahead, promptly carry out an SME Business Health Check focusing on areas that could be most at risk and to react quickly and positively in shoring up those areas.
Re-set your business – Questions to ask yourself
- What was the original purpose of the business?
Is that still clear and well communicated throughout the organization? Keep focused on what you do best.
- Are we still close to our IDEAL customers?
Let us make sure we have not taken them for granted. Listen to their needs, serve those that serve you the best.
- Are we delivering our products or service in the most efficient way we can?
Now is the time to address this. Do not blindly overlook the obvious, your team will know where costs can be cut, pencil sharpened, service level increased.
- Where do we want to be in 12 months, 3 years, and 10 years?
Whilst recessions often call for short-term survival mode, do not lose sight of where the business is heading. Keep focused. Start in 2032 and work backwards. Recessions do not last forever.
- Finally, ask yourself – am I still enjoying running this business?
Have I got the right blend of work and lifestyle? How am I really feeling? Am I being honest with myself?
Avoid My Own Energy Crisis
This final question was the key theme in two of the prestigious business speakers’ sessions, at the webinar. It is an easy decision to carry out a Business Health Check. However, if the MD is not in good shape, getting through a recession stronger and remaining on track, will be a much bigger challenge.
Mark Farrer-Brown talked to us about Managing Our Own Energy Crisis. How apt? I really liked that topical session headline.
Mark contrasted a marathon runner with a sprinter. He’d approached his working life (CEO, Angel Investor, VC and more recently a Founder CEO Coach) as being a marathon runner. Running constantly, long-distances, no time to stop, exhausted, not present. He now lives his life as a sprinter, who conserves his natural energy, stores it up and then works hard and intensely in sprints. Mark explained how he learned about ultradian rhythms. These involuntary waves happen many times a day in the same way our heart beats or our eyes blink. The frequency is unique to the individual but once you are aware of yours, and work with it, you can use it to do your best work every day, without getting exhausted. 90-minute sprints and 20-minute breaks (a real break, not a cup of coffee and catch-up on emails type of break) seems to be a typical ultradian rhythm. Find yours and go with the flow!
Business Leaders need to learn to manage their own energy before they can help others manage theirs. I know what it’s like to run on empty and to run for a long time and I know where my mind and body ended up. Not good. I look back and wonder had I have worked in rhythm with my mind and body, rather than against it, how much more effective I could have been?
Be My Best Self
Being your best self, was a real theme of Eric Partaker’s session. This really resonated with me, particularly about being the best Mum I can be as well as the best leader. He talked about focusing on health, wealth and relationships. How to be the healthiest you, how to be the wealthiest you and how to be the most loving you.
His own journey started with how he threw himself into his work, believing he was at peak performance, and ended up having a heart attack at 35,000ft! His book really calls out Peak Performance Traps we fall into and then offers an abundance of practical advice, tips and suggestions to help you focus on being the best you. It’s like re-setting your mind about what true Peak Performance really is. Some superb lessons to take into the workplace as well as our life outside.
The webinar covered the main areas of recession resilience you would expect, cash protection being top of the list. Opportunities are born out of recessions and challenging times. Recessions are always followed by growth periods.
But for me, the strong focus on taking good care of us, as business leaders, with an abundance of responsibility and challenges, was right at the top of the takeaways.
Dent. Global Become a Key Person of Influence | Dent Global with Daniel Priestley
Eric Partaker Training for Entrepreneurs – Eric Partaker
Mark Farrer-Brown Founder CEO Coaching – Fit To Lead
