During turbulent times, many businesses operate with fear and put the bottom line first. This causes companies to make common mistakes that lead to even bigger consequences.
1. Cutting headcount – When times are tough and the budget is tight, cutting headcount may seem like a solution to reducing spending, but in reality, it creates fear across employees and stunts creativity. Resorting to layoffs indirectly communicates to the team that the organization will put itself above the people who support it.
2. Stopping payments to suppliers – Similarly, when organizations stop paying suppliers, this ends up not only hurting long-term relationships but also hurting the suppliers, potentially causing them to go out of business. When a company puts itself above others, they end up damaging connections they might need later. This short-sighted approach will lead to long-term problems.
3. Not adapting to market demands – Many companies want to lay low during difficult times, but I think there’s an opportunity to evaluate how we can continually evolve our business models to adapt to what the market needs, whether that is a new product, new service, or identifying a new target audience. We can always do better and keep growing. This allows us to find areas of new revenue that we may have missed out on in the past. With a fixed mindset, an organization won’t be able to survive.
Even difficult times, like the COVID-19 pandemic, bring an opportunity to build trust, strengthen partnerships, and examine our business model. Most importantly, sticking by our team and partners is the best way to relay the unspoken commitment that we are all in this together for the long term.
Dima Ghawi is the founder of a global talent development company with a primary mission for advancing individuals in leadership. Through keynote speeches, training programs and executive coaching, Dima has empowered thousands of professionals across the globe to expand their leadership potential. In addition, she provides guidance to business executives to develop diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies and to implement a multi-year plan for advancing quality leaders from within the organization.
Reach her at DimaGhawi.com and BreakingVases.com.