The coming of a new year always brings with it hope and optimism - and 2021 is no exception. Even with the economic turndown and the menace that was COVID19, another year means a blank slate, an opportunity to start again and make things even better.
Entrepreneurs are giddy and excited about the prospect of 2021. New goals, new challenges, new ideas - the possibilities are absolutely endless! Of course, business leaders know that not everyone has the same sentiment. If some of your employees don’t feel like 2021 has anything new to offer, there are a lot of ways that you, as a business leader, can put your organization in a place of certainty and stability this 2021.
When COVID19 first struck, business leaders had to be on their toes. The amount of damage control and pivoting businesses had to do meant that Visionaries and leadership teams had to spend so many hours coming up with solutions to problems they’ve never faced before. As such, long term goals went out the window for the moment - short term goals were the bread and butter of wartime leadership because you never knew what tomorrow would bring.
Businesses that were able to adapt to the challenges that COVID19 offered are slowly recovering, but now it’s time to take the next step. A lot of business leaders are still afraid of taking risks and making huge mistakes. Stop overthinking things - the worst is now behind you and if worrying about every single thing actually helped you during the beginning of the pandemic, it’s going to stop you from moving past your ceilings for the coming year.
Go back to the long-term goals that you’ve had for the company before the pandemic hit. It’s okay to start working towards those goals again. Acknowledge that it’s safe enough to start thinking in terms of months and years when you make plans.
The easiest way to give your organization certainty this 2021 is to think positively. This may sound cliche, but intentionally choosing to believe that 2021 will be a better year when there’s a pandemic still going around is actually harder than it looks. However, the fact that the company is still intact and you’re still here thriving is reason enough to celebrate.
Acknowledge successes, no matter how minor they are. Give yourselves a pat on the back for making it this far - as sad as the thought is, you have to remember that not all organizations were as victorious as you are. A lot of startups and businesses closed in 2020, and the fact that you’re still standing should be reason enough to strengthen your resolve for 2021.
Every tragedy has a silver lining, and with this pandemic, we at least saw a lot of good in humanity. Yes, there are people who reacted to this pandemic in the worst way possible, but I also saw a lot of companies who came together and made sacrifices together just to make it through. I saw struggling communities banding together in an effort to protect local businesses. I saw businesses that chose to serve their communities instead of making a profit from others’ misfortunes.
I know a lot of entrepreneurs who emerged from this challenge with open eyes, able to see things from a different light. If there’s a lesson that 2020 taught us, is that there’s more to business than just meeting sales numbers and generating revenue. The majority of businesses that survived 2020 were businesses with great culture and purpose.
Businesses where employees cared about the company’s survival as much as their employers did so everyone was willing to suffer for a little while just so they could all make it through. Purpose-driven businesses that made an impact in their community before the pandemic, and so when times were tough, the community had their backs. If your company places sales numbers above all else, then take this opportunity to start creating a culture of purpose over profit. That’s the surefire way to building a stable and steadfast business this 2021.
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Mark Henderson Leary:
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mark@leary.cc
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