A Week On – It Is All About the Response

It is now more than a week since I wrote Don’t Panic – Lessons from Another Millennium. The response has been overwhelming. But I thought I would reflect on what has happened over the past week.  

When a business I owned was under severe financial pressure during the GFC, the best response was communicating with creditors, employees and other stakeholders. That approach provided a level of comfort and certainty to suppliers, employees and customers. While it is deeply regrettable that so many in the hospitality, events and tourism sectors have lost their jobs – the way that companies have handled and responded to this crisis is admirable. I regularly see updates from the owners of companies even though they must be under an enormous burden of stress and responsibility. Responding the way that many of them have (and I have read a note from Flight Centre and Virgin today which are commendable) will give them the best chance of restarting when more certainty returns. 

Then I have seen responses from other sectors. There is a very fine line between responding to circumstances and trying to capitalise on the misfortune of others. Just because someone has a LinkedIn account doesn’t make them an epidemiologist, physician or pandemic expert. Maybe more people would be better to focus on their business and not using external circumstances to deflect the current or future issues their businesses may face. 

In the numerous meetings over the past week or so, I have been surprised by the lack of urgency and transparency in some circumstances. From other clients, I am getting calls a few times a day and they have the urgency and are innovatively developing responses. Then there is the third group who have basically gone to ground – no communication, no accountability and no urgency. The latter display the characteristics of a company that may struggle over the coming months and they are going to have to come clean at some stage. While panic is not required, going through this process with rationality, transparency and authenticity is critical. Even if you are getting through this unscathed tell people what you are doing to create certainty over confusion and misinformation. 

The Federal and NSW Government has come under attack for mixed messaging. This is bunkum. The way they have handled this is very nuanced and it is a fine balancing act. Australia is a federation and our system was intentionally designed to diffuse power. This makes it tough. But add to this, the general deep-seated mistrust for all institutions that has grown at the speed of an outbreak over recent years and matters are even more complicated. Individuals now think that they have better solutions than the collective wisdom of our institutions. Individuals are typically informed through social and traditional media with all the graphs oversimplifying relationships, confusing cause and effect and comparing stocks and flows.  If social media and individuals had the answers then we wouldn’t be where we are. There are economic, social and physical considerations that need to be carefully balanced and probably can’t be solved by a re-share of a LinkedIn post. With a stimulus package representing close to $190 billion, we will be paying for this for a long time. The decisions that are made today will have long standing impacts and require due care and attention. Governments are best placed to make those decisions whether you agree with them or not. 

Each business will have different responses to the changed circumstances. I recommend looking at how the tourism sector is responding at the moment to the significant events that their businesses are confronted with. On a final note, start believing the democratically elected Governments are acting in the interests of the citizenry. Don’t try to second guess them because you won't make money out of that like you have previously. Following them is the new paradigm for profit. Once you do that you will remove the fog and start tending to your business which desperately needs your attention. And, before you think it, I am going to take my own advice...