There are dozens of clichés, colloquialisms, and famous quotes that attempt to encapsulate the range of emotions you’re going through right now, give you advice and motivate you as you wrestle with the all-to-real impact of industry and economic disruption caused by things that are out of your control.
I got the idea for this book as I watched the fallout from the pandemic consume hundreds of thousands of businesses soon after it landed in the US in 2019. Over 60% of those businesses reportedly closed permanently, putting more than 6.2 million people out of work.
While I acknowledge that some industries were affected more than others, my colleagues and I noticed that executives and business owners fell into 4 buckets, regardless of industry.
Bucket number one contained those that were financially unprepared and panicked. Bucket number two contained those that were financially prepared but lacked agility. Bucket number three contained those that were financially unprepared but were agile. Bucket number four contained those that were financially prepared and agile.
So, why is agility important?
I’m reminded of a book I read a decade ago, Evolve or Die by Robin Crow. Simply put, you must continuously evolve to meet the conditions of the marketplace you serve if you want to ensure sustainability and position your business for growth.
Absolutely nothing stays the same. In addition to internal factors that you can control, there will always be external factors that you can not control. A pandemic, a natural disaster that affects your supply chain and raw resources, the political climate, war, new regulations or legislation, an economic bubble, a recession, competitor movement, and I could go on. Your business needs to be ready to respond to external threats with data-driven strategies that tactically prepare you to meet these challenges head-on. An agile business that has put in the “work”, which is the purpose of this book, stands ready with new strategies and solutions, evolved business models, vetted additional or replacement revenue streams, etc.
Back to the buckets!
The businesses in bucket number one had to close their doors permanently. The businesses in bucket number two took an initial hit but were sufficiently capitalized so they continue to hobble along today waiting for things to return to normal. Unfortunately, things will never return to normal. We are faced with a new normal and they’d do better to face the music. The businesses in bucket number three have weathered the storm because they quickly leveraged new opportunities in the marketplace they served and identified new opportunities in markets not previously served. And finally, the businesses in the fourth bucket continue to thrive, achieving record-breaking revenues, are ranking in leadership positions within the markets they serve, and are optimistically positioned for growth.
This guidebook is a quick and easy read, presented in "recipe book" format to ensure that the instructions are easy to follow and that the resulting plan meets the needs of your company.
You'll follow the recipe from A-Z. An “alphabet soup” of steps and tasks you’ll need in order to perform a systematic assessment of your business and your marketplace. This guide will lead you through the development of a comprehensive disruption recovery plan for the adaptation and innovation you need to meet the needs of your customer’s new buying behavior, address the disrupted market demand and capitalize on unexpected changes in the business environment.
You’ll end up with a resilience strategy that sustains your business and sets the stage for growth.
Want to learn more? Want to be notified when the book has published? We'll be in touch!
