In the age of big data, we have become so used to looking to the past and into our crystal ball of predicted information whenever we need to make business decisions. We rely heavily on data to identify market trends and forecast potential risks to inform our business strategies. But no-one could have predicted a large-scale disrupter like COVID-19 which has rendered all our data investment useless and left us vulnerable to a completely unknown future as in the olden days.
On 19 April 2020, David Mattin from TrendWatching wrote in his weekly newsletter that as much as COVID-19 is a global struggle, we cannot gloss over the fact that there will be winners and losers. In his words: “The truth is that while global networks are powerful, they don’t liberate us from the bonds of history.” Our circumstances are not the same. Countries like Uganda and Mozambique, that already face futures of severe famine and poverty, will suffer much more than wealthy countries such as Sweden. We can’t say that we are all in this together without reaching out to those who suffer more than we do.
Our mothers used to warn us that all you really have is your good name and indeed, all we have left in these uncertain times is our reputation. While we are all battening down the hatches to preserve our businesses, we must remain mindful of not tarnishing the brands that we have built as leaders, as employers and as organisations. It is clear from the development of websites such as Did They Help that we will all be remembered for how we respond to this crisis. Even if they don’t use a platform like this, our customers, suppliers and employees are all rating the decisions that we make during this time.
So, how do we make those decisions when we have no means of peeking into the future? How do we know how much or how little to give? How do we balance keeping our employees and keeping our businesses? How do we adapt to gain market share when we don’t really know our target market anymore?
I suggest that we stop grappling to regain control and certainty, and take a page out of Disney’s book. In the Frozen 2 animation film released in 2019, Anna’s world threatens to collapse all around her, but she gets up and decides to do the next right thing. In this new world where it is becoming increasingly difficult to know what the best decision, the most profitable decision or the most sustainable decision is, let’s just focus on making the next right decision.
What does the next right decision mean from a business perspective though? I think that it means going back to an old-fashioned way of looking at right and wrong. Even though we sometimes prefer to hide behind data and financial projections when we make decisions, we all know instinctively when something is right or wrong. And it is here where our organisational values play a huge role as our moral compass. If we don’t remain true to our values in trying times, are they really values? Perhaps now is a better time than ever to consider values first, before looking at the hard facts. This will determine whether we emerge from this crisis as a fighter or a fraud – or hero/zero as they rate you on Did They Help.
I love the old term “do right by me”. If everyone lived by this, there would be no real need for legal contracts. Perhaps that is as simple as it needs to be. When you lead, start by doing right by those in your care and set your mind free from what you can’t control.