Today I had legitimate cause to drive into Wellington as I took my wife to her x-ray appointment – thankfully nothing too serious. As we drove through the exceptionally quiet streets, something became very apparent to me.
The lockdown is highlighting people’s best and worst practises.
Drivers sitting in the wrong lane, braking dramatically for speed limit changes, driving erratically, not indicating…all highlighted because they were no longer able to hide in the usual crowd.
Of course the good driving was also plain to see. Indicating intent despite the fact that no-one else is around, observing speed limits through non-operational roadworks.
This got me thinking. This must be true for business too! The lockdown as a result of COVID-19 must have highlighted organisations who have failed to keep up to date with current best-practises in their particular industry and those who are leaders in their areas of expertise – or put another way, those who will struggle and those who may ride through this more easily and come out stronger than before.
Up front, let me say that the human tragedy of COVID-19 is of course forefront in all of our minds – and I am in no-way inconsiderate of that – my sympathies are with everyone who has been impacted. In this article, I want to think about the effect that the COVID-19 response has had on businesses.
We all know organisations who always have an excuse for not evolving; too busy with BAU, not enough time, not enough people, not enough money, we’re not mature enough – so they carry on doing the same old thing, the same old way. The business is full of waste through inefficiency and ineffectiveness. There was little consideration for the changing needs of the customer, or thought about the Employee Experience current working practises creates. Martec’s Law beautifully illustrates the impact of this, with the widening gap being the chasm which one day will have to be crossed:
On the other hand, for organisations who have been in Continuous Next – on-going change within the business which delivers value to the organisation by serving customers through optimised working practises – this gap is significantly smaller.
And then came COVID-19 – a forced reset!
In this sense, the impact of COVID-19 to a business who has avoided change may be a good thing. They will be forced to transform themselves – digitizing processes, providing staff with appropriate tools to do their work, adapting to meet customer needs, improving the quality of their product or service, reducing their costs, managing their environmental impact, etc. That gain in efficiency and effectiveness will have a positive effect through the entire supply chain, from suppliers and partners, to staff and customers.
The reality is that if they don’t quickly adapt to the new normal, someone will grasp the opportunity and plug the gap with an innovative offering which will have longevity in the current marketplace and beyond.
Of course some sectors have been hugely and negatively impacted by the response to COVID-19 through no fault of their own, in particular the travel industry, the hospitality industry, and the higher education sector to name but 3.
Even here there are opportunities – pilotless drones, better quality take-away food served to a larger population, an emerging online AR conferencing market, and revolutionised and online learning. The possibilities for re-invention appear endless. The rate of change will certainly increase as innovation takes over to provide solutions to these challenges.
When considering the effect that dealing with the crisis has created for business, highlighting the best and worst practise is one way that we can ensure the impact of the next global event, pandemic or otherwise, is as minor as possible.
So the conversation should shift to “how do I transform as quickly as possible?” and gain confidence that my organisation can adapt to the new normal and future-proof myself for the next event.
Here, the Digital Twin of the Organisation has a significant role to play. It can be captured quickly, delivers immediate insight into what the future should look like and helps you plan the journey to get there.
Coupled with a view of value, the Digital Twin shows you what the most important change is so you can get that done first – it turns a potentially massive and scary change into easily communicated and consumed chunks which dramatically increase the likelihood of success.
The Digital Twin also helps you understand the impact on your people, systems and finances as you deliver the change. You are able to manage your conversations with staff, suppliers, partners, and customers, as well as the changing technology landscape – and see how your operational costs, budgets and profits will be impacted by the change.
This video serves as an introduction to creating a Digital Twin for your Organisation.
If you’d like to learn more, you can head to our website at www.linq.it where you can sign up for a free 30-day trial. If you’d like to get into a conversation about your specific challenges and how LINQ or the LINQ Partner network could help you, you may book a conversation with me here.
Use the effect that COVID-19 has had on you, your colleagues and your business as the instigator of your business transformation and on-going success.
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