Foundations of Recovery
Although it might not seem like it in this moment, the foundation of your recovery from this emergency is already being laid. Every crisis evolves over an arc of time, through stages of “what was,” “what is,” and “what will be.” The present, “what is,” gets most of the attention because it’s immediate and urgent. In the case of coronavirus, if you took planning and preparation seriously before COVID-19 hit your area, you should have people who are handling present needs well. Take time to reflect on the people and cultural elements from “what was” that you want to preserve and how each step you take now will define the future.
PTC Computer Solutions is always looking at data for our customers and for us to have a better idea of what people are looking for. We are always staying on top of the latest information and trying to understand the data we receive. Part of that is to ascertain what people are involved in and what they tend towards. During this Covid-19 pandemic, we are looking at what changes we are seeing in the data and what it might mean for the next steps.
Like every crisis, the coronavirus emergency had a beginning, has a middle, and will have an end. This is not like a movie, however, where you know the running time before you purchase your ticket. There are many models of this epidemic, and no one knows exactly how this will play out. People are looking to leaders for direction, support, and hope. If you are a leader, providing those guideposts will require you to wrestle with difficult decisions, and to make the right ones, you’ll need to be deft at making sense of things. Success will ultimately emerge from linking and leveraging expertise, resources, and inspiration across traditional organizational boundaries. This is your “you’re it” moment. Now, and in the months ahead, how you lead matters.
There are some keys to preparing now and for after now. During a crisis, make sure to think of the following:
- Spend Wisely – the two most important currencies leaders have in a crisis are information and empathy. Information, he said, should be authoritative, transparent, and trustworthy.
- Don’t be a Hero – particularly in a crisis of long duration, you need to resist the urge to try to be a superhero. Many people working together, not a few individuals carrying all of the weight, will overcome the adversity of the current moment. The most effective leaders will create the space and climate where collaboration, compassion, and service are rewarded. They will continually push to find clarity about what’s happening and what it means, and share it.
- Navigate Well – most organizations have a values statement and a code of ethics, and if not, create one. They aren’t always referenced. Now is the time to change that. It’s more important than ever to do the right thing: Take the long view on customer relationships, coworker engagement, and brand reputation. As a leader, you exert a magnetic pull on the ethics of the entire organization. Ensure that your compass keeps efforts pointed at true north by sharing how ethics shape the core operating principles you want to guide decisions and actions.
If you don’t know exactly how to handle your services or your product offerings, Parker Associates has spent the last 38 years providing information to developers and builders on exactly how to do that. Contact us if you want to get down to details on how you can provide for the retiree market. We’re always available and at the ready.
PTC Computer Solutions advises businesses on technology that might help their interests. If your business is interested in getting ahead of the competition, contact us for more on how to use technology to your advantage. It’s what we do.
David WB Parker is a principal of Parker Associates of Jacksonville, Florida, marketing consultants to the real estate industry; President of PTC Computer Solutions, IT Specialist, and an active real estate sales professional with Barclay’s Real Estate Group based in Jacksonville, FL. He can be reached at 904-607-8763 or via email davidp@ptccomputersolutions.com.