This blog post has been authored by Stand Out Online Member Kelly O’Neil, Innovate Media Services
“It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory.” —W. Edwards Deming
One of the most critical aspects of leadership is the ability to chart a course and stay focused on it. A good leader will keep their goals in sight and hold steady against distractions that will take your company off track to achieving them. That is why I have always placed such importance on strategic planning. A good plan gives you a road map to where you want to go and makes it so much easier to stay aligned with your goals.
However as with most things, steadfastness must be undertaken with a degree of moderation. We live in a dynamically changing world where unforeseen things sometimes happen. Hurricanes, for instance. Stock market crashes. Pandemics.
When the unexpected happens, we need to respond in ways that minimize potential loss or damage to the business and maximize the potential for opportunity and ROI. And that often calls for a pivot.
The Art of the Uplevel
All good leaders have the ability to pivot and uplevel. While we definitely operate from a strategic plan and know how to stick to it, we also have the ability to step back and change direction when circumstances call for it. Take the recent COVID-19 pandemic, for example, which is forcing businesses everywhere to rethink their strategies.
In my own business, I had been expecting and preparing for a downturn in the economy for months. However, the speed with which everything suddenly shut down was not anything anybody could predict. While my business is capable of functioning quite well in quarantine, I also realized that the strategy I had so carefully planned was no longer ideal for current circumstances.
After assessing the situation and weighing the associated challenges and opportunities, I ended up making some quick strategic shifts in my business to aggressively address the economic fallout that is bound to result in the aftermath of the virus. This included a return to the Marketing to Millionaires™ brand as my flagship program and market identity, amongst other shifts. So far the market is responding extremely well to these shifts – so well in fact that this particular challenge is turning out to have been an incredible opportunity for my business.
Innovation Breeds Opportunity
It’s the innovators that make it through these challenging times and come out ahead. It takes a creative mind to pivot your strategy in a way that allows you to take advantage of the opportunities at hand.
The businesses that are likely to go under are the ones that are completely stuck in their old ways, unwilling or unable to innovate. When things come up you‘ve got to be able to take a strategic look back and say, “well, that happened, now what?”
However, the ability to innovate alone will not save your business in times of change. Innovation must be done strategically, or it can be just as damaging – if not more – than being stuck in the mud.
So here are a few pointers to help you innovate wisely and profitably navigate these challenging times:
1. Stay Aware. Be alert to everything going on around you that could impact your business. Read the news, be aware of trends and what people are thinking as well as potential changes to the supply chain, relevant legislation, etc. Avoid making assumptions based on hearsay; you’ll want to double check any facts that may impact the outcome of your decisions.
2. Leverage Your Existing Strengths. Now is not the time to take on more than you have to. Granted, challenging circumstances may require that you jump into uncharted territory. For instance, my last live event took place just as everything was starting to shut down in response to the virus, and I ended up offering for the very first time a last-minute livestream for people who couldn’t attend. However, change is taxing so wherever you can leverage existing skills, assets, and connections instead of trying to create everything new from scratch, do it. Think, “how can I reframe or use what I already have profitably in this situation?”
3. Think Short AND Long Term. Think through the situation carefully. Is this just a short term disturbance that requires temporary detour-style solutions? Or are you going to need to alter your entire long-term strategy?
4. Act Deliberately. Watch your emotions. It’s easy to quickly react to a crisis, but you’re far better off taking a few deep breaths and responding with the appropriate actions once you’ve had a chance to properly assess the situation.
5. Don’t Drag Your Feet. That said, fortune favors the brave. Yes, do your due diligence, but once you’ve determined the best strategy for moving forward, do so decisively.
The One Uplevel to Rule Them All
So here we are, by all appearances at the cusp of another Great Recession. I doubt there’s a single business out there that won’t be impacted in one way or another. Most will be forced to pivot or change whether they want to or not.
The changes you make to your business now will significantly impact your profits over the next few years, and may even make the difference between your being still in business or not. So make them wisely.
While every business will need to respond to the current economic challenge in its own way, there is one strategic pivot that can benefit any service provider not already implementing it in their business. And that is, to start targeting affluent clients. Not only are wealthy people better positioned to continue to buy in a recession, but the affluent mindset is wonderful at turning obstacles into opportunities – and that of course is the art of the pivot. So why not play their own game right alongside them, and make it your opportunity too by positioning yourself as an indispensable resource to them in times of change?
Uplevel Smart
In challenging times especially, it pays to spend as much time in your own genius zone as you can, and leverage other people’s strengths to advantage in areas outside your core competencies. Our genius zone is business positioning and strategy.
If innovation isn’t your thing, if you want to make sure the pivots you have in mind are going to be a smart move for you, or if you’d like to know how you can start attracting wealthy ideal clients to your business, I encourage you to reach out today for a complimentary consultation to learn some ways you can better position your business to profit through the coming years.
Kelly O’Neil is a multi-award winning entrepreneur, affluent marketing and brand-marketing expert for the next generation of innovative companies and thought leaders.
As a highly successful marketing consultant for service-based businesses, Kelly knows exactly what it takes to exit a recession stronger than when you entered it. Her ability to tap into and understand the affluent mindset has made Kelly America’s leading expert in selling to the millionaire market.**
She has been featured in Entrepreneur Magazine, Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Forbes, NBC, and Huffington Post among others! Kelly is a best-selling author, has shared the stage with industry legends including Tim Ferris, Jack Canfield and Brian Tracey, and was named by Seth Godin as “One of the Most Innovative Companies in America.”