Companies and people around the world are facing uncertainty and turmoil from the Corona-virus crisis. Economies are in recession, people are being laid off work and a lethal virus is impacting our lives. As bad as our situation is, there is another way to look at this. Boston Consulting Group research shows that during the 2008 global recession, despite the odds, 14% of companies grew their revenue. How did they do that? The key is to deal with the crisis but also look ahead and find ways to innovate and grow.
For example, when Thomas Edison’s entire research campus was destroyed by fire, instead of getting angry or giving up, he became energized, got creative and had the factory back up and running in only three weeks.
During the 2002 SARS crisis, Alibaba experienced huge growth because it created innovative ways to help e-commerce, specifically Alipay and Aliwangwang instant messenger.
“The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word ‘crisis.’ One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity” John F Kennedy, April 12, 1959.
During a crisis our focus is often distracted dealing with day to day issues. The key is to also plan for the future and look for new opportunities to better help your customers. This also helps you create control of your situation and dilutes stress caused by uncertainty.
So how do you do it?
How do you deal with daily challenges and also keep an eye on the future? Here are my 3 C’s for innovating during a crisis:
1. Take Control
Doing anything is better than nothing. During a crisis, the biggest risk to progress and innovation is doing nothing and during a crisis there’s almost no downside to taking a chance – what have you got to lose?
When Jack Dorsey was fired from Twitter in 2008, he didn’t become paralyzed or depressed. Instead he accepted it, took control and figured out how else he could do to help people. That’s when he founded Square, one of the largest payment-processing start-ups in the world.
How can you take control during uncertain times? Tip: Start small and break it down into chunks. Plan for the future, set a 3 small goals. Pick up that book you never go to and start reading for just 10 minutes. If you’re rethinking your customer strategy, list 5 section headings.
To quote Jim Kwik, inch by inch is a cinch, yard by yard is hard.
2. Help your Customers
Trivago, an online hotel booking service owned by Expedia, is preparing for a post-crisis world by focusing on what how they can help their customers when things are getting better.
They’re picturing customers sitting in their apartments for months and how they can help them. This gives their staff vision and a goal to work towards.
Get into the head of your customer or users and think ahead to the return to work. How can you give them a better product, experience or service in the post-corona-virus world?
3. Conceptualize the future
Imagine a future goal or think ahead to something that you can get excited about. Take a time-out during a crisis to think about your values and set personal and professional targets. Ideate what possible, don’t be constrained with current thinking and think outside the box. I love conceptualizing the endless possibilities of technology and how it can improve our lives.
For example:
- AI can empower people with disabilities by translating eye movements into program commands or reduce bias in the hiring process.
- How cool will it be to book an Uber flying taxi?
- No longer having to worry about losing or charging your phone because we’ll be wearing screens.
- Block-chain will improve safety across our food supply chain.
- Smart cities can combine data from traffic sensors and streetlights to save energy costs.
Summary
We’re in stressful times and we need to deal with the crisis in front of us and help others. But it’s vital that we also look ahead for ways to innovate and invest in ourselves to shape our post-crisis future.
This crisis will cause difficulties for many people. But it will also create opportunities for innovation and growth. This is time to take more risks, focus on what really matters, and embrace the opportunity to grow.
What opportunity are you going to take from this crisis?