When the world is against you, there is opportunity.
I’m worried”
“About what?” I asked.
“The war in Iran, fuel prices are up, interest rates, inflation, economic uncertainty, our customers are up against it, our share price has dropped.”
“So what are you going to do?”
“The standard play book, cut costs, cut head count.”
“Why?”
“Well that’s the way things are done, that’s what our competitors will do.”
“It’s time to play your own game. What if you did something different? What’s the opportunity?”
I’ve had variations on that conversation with CEOs half a dozen times over the last six weeks. I’ve had variations of that conversation dozens of times over the last five years, swapping out the war for AI or geopolitics. My job is turn to fear and worry into positive energy.
Using the term opportunity may sound callous, I’m not talking about taking advantage of the suffering of others, rather, that necessity is the mother of invention.
If your competitors are scaling back, what opportunities does that present? If your customers are struggling, what innovative ways can you offer to help them? If your employees are struggling with the cost of living, how could you help them (after all your employees are your business). If your overheads are rising sharply, how can you sidestep them? What are the advantages of doing the exact opposite of your competitor? Challenge always offers opportunity you just have to exercise the muscle of looking for it.
An example, COVID drove up prices for construction materials, small construction companies found it impossible to quote accurately for their customers. I worked with a home improvement store to help pass material costs direct to customers so those small businesses could still provide a quote and weren’t burdened with that overhead. And then, we offered credit to the customers to support them through the rising costs so they didn’t have stop a project half way through. The result? They thrived.
I set CEOs homework. The homework in this case is to develop an approach for thriving in the current conditions. Create a team, set up a working group, set a sharp mind against the challenge. Challenge requires different thinking, different ideas, different approaches.
This homework is for you too, what could you do to find opportunity in the current crisis? I would love to know the opportunities you’ve thought about, just hit reply.
If you are a leader who would like me to support you in doing this, reply and we’ll get right to it. Don’t let this opportunity pass you by.