SOUND ADVICE
WHAT SOME YPO MEMBERS ARE SUGGESTING
The following are key, actionable steps from YPO members that have been compiled anonymously from a survey. An overwhelming majority of leaders have already taken action by implementing steps like increasing channels of communication, having new health and safety measures and cancelling events.
ACTING NOW.
“This black swan has compromised all our risk management matrices. What plans do we make to ensure our businesses survive it and emerge stronger? Our businesses need to adapt to minimise the impact and we need to be nimble in our responses. We will likely all take a hit from the economic impact of it but this too shall pass and preparing for what’s next is all we can do as leaders to maximise the odds for survival and success.”
COMMUNICATING WITH STAKEHOLDERS.
“Watch very closely but don’t overreact. Help employees quantify risks and relentlessly communicate the company plans to address the illness if detected in your company. Address the fears but project confidence in your ability to manage through the pandemic. Bring in outside experts, if necessary, to help employees differentiate between media hype and facts. Take the same measures with clients.”
PROTECTING THE COMMUNITY.
“Join in what your community is doing. In Silicon Valley, we are working to stop the spread by having everybody stop travelling and going to the office. It’s a mini self-quarantine in our backyard. If we can stop it, we’ll save our community and the world a lot of pain and deaths. Protect your employees and they will thank you for it.”
ENSURING FINANCIAL RESILIENCY.
“It’s time to aggressively free up operating expenses and de-risk as much as possible. This is a crucial step to creating some level of flexibility – a commodity most organisations will be looking for very soon. The speed and ferocity in which news comes must be addressed immediately with meaningful crisis communications. There will be some short- and long-term adjustments that conflict with the agile, lean, just-in-time world we’ve grown to love. Despite a healthy amount of progress in the last decade, the newest innovation craze will be diversification.”