This<\/a> report taken from McKinsey to June 2020 reminds us of the enormous global disruption that took the world by surprise. Already at that time, the report highlighted the major opportunity that organisations have to reset the way they think to become one of the great post COVID-19 players and therefore improve their global competition. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\nAlthough the report dates back to 2020, it still gives us a great opportunity to gain a good understanding of the COVID-19 implication for businesses as the pandemic is still ongoing, and many organisations still need to focus on healing and prepare for the next normal.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\nSo, more than a year after the emergence of COVID-19, some organisations are still working on projects that they shouldn’t be. They are working on projects that might have sought a different solution with a little more time.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\nOr, they are working on projects that, while they will satisfy the short and medium-term requirements, might have built something that is much more scalable and would give them access to potentially even a different customer base. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\nAs a result, it became even more clear that the pandemic will create \u201cnew winners and new losers\u201d across the business world.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\nHowever, if organisations find the best ways to innovate and prioritise their work, then they\u2019re on their way to rebuild a winning company and thrive.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\nNow, you need to be aware that everyone wants to work with winners. The best part of building a winning company is that it brings with it all that goes with winners. So, you end up with the best leaders, employees, customers, and partners. And even better still, you will create a brand that attracts investment while having the necessary funds to innovate.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\nIn other words, you will become one of the winners, and the competition that fails to pivot at this particular time with the same insight and the same focus will be left behind.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\nSo, if you\u2019re still looking for the best practices to adapt to the new reality, you need to understand what is the high impact work and prioritise it accordingly. You can no longer focus on a backlog of work, as you need to completely reset your work around the value that it will add to your overall productivity agenda (short term, medium-term, and ultimately long-term, while remembering that it\u2019s got to be sustainable for the long term). \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nSo, what are the questions behind the questions that you need to ask yourself in order to reset your business and reimagine your business model?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\nWhat problems do I help my customers or future customers solve?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\nWhat value is that to them and their extended customer network?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\nHow does the customer measure the value of our contribution?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\nWhat does that mean to my current backlog of work?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\nHow do I deliver on the same with the least amount of risk in the shortest time frame, the lowest cost, and the highest acceptable quality?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/span><\/p>\nIf you answer these questions properly, your portfolio prioritisation will self select the right value and initiatives to invest in.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\nThe more effective your company strategy is in moving forward, the more value you will create, the more contracts you will win, and the more projects you will be able to deliver.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\nThe formula is quite simple, but it is built around the decisions and the actions you need to take right away.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\nAnyway, before taking an in-depth look at the re-prioritisation process and why you need it to build a winning company, let’s see what a simple children’s story can teach you about the best way to respond when a crisis becomes the new normal. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\n2. The Hare And The Tortoise: A Children\u2019s Story That Tells You How To Reset After COVID-19<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n <\/figure>\n\nHere\u2019s a short anecdote built around a popular children\u2019s story, the hare and the tortoise.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\nStart by asking yourself: How would each character address the question? How do I responsibly accelerate scalable, sustainable, responsible business growth against our companies productivity agenda? How would the hare and tortoise respectively address the questions listed in the first section of this article?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\nWell, the supposed agile hare would take a more lazy approach and rush into the work (same as many of us did before COVID-19). At the same time, the tortoise would be far more considered in the response because the tortoise knows that it will never beat the hare on speed and agility alone.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\nTo do this and therefore bait the metaphorical competition, you need to be able to be very clear on your planning and what your prioritisation is. In a business sense, anything else will be a money waster or, more importantly, eroding at your company’s long-term competitiveness.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\nAgain, and anecdotally, the hare will just focus on the run rather than the race where the tortoise will focus on a strategy and a plan that, done correctly, will create the opportunity to lift the company\u2019s rankings, even if pre-COVID it was a less competitive organisation.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\nAfter all, remember that you are in a once in a generation business reset. Whether you win or not, you’re undoubtedly interested in improving your company’s competitive edge.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\nIf the employees, partners, and leadership all rely around the same problem and take the time to reflect on the learnings with an innovative mindset while being sure to be honest and introspective on these learnings, then the company can only be more competitive.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n3. Reimagining Your Business Through Re-Prioritisation<\/strong><\/h2>\n\nNow that you know that the tortoise’s approach is the right one for your business to adapt to the new reality let’s see the steps you need to take to build a winning company through re-prioritisation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\nSo, how do you get started? How do you make this happen without you overdoing the exercise and losing even more competitiveness?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\nFirst and foremost, you need to include more of the patient tortoise thinking to lock down your strategy and plan before running straight into the execution.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\nBelow you will find a 7-step process for business re-prioritisation that you may want to consider to reimagine your business:<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\n\nStep 1: Refreshed vision, mission, and strategy\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/span><\/p>\nStarting with the customer problem and, therefore, your target market in mind, you need to be sure that your solution is still relevant, sustainable, scalable, and ultimately aligns with your vision, mission, and strategy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\nIf not, it may need refreshing. Remember, it all needs to be informed either the same or refreshed productivity agenda. Once you know it, this should become your North Star.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\n\nStep 2: People alignment to the strategy\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/span><\/p>\nEnsure the company aligns with the wider company team that will work either remotely and\/or on-site to deliver to the same.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\nAsk yourself: Does it make sense? Is it really going to help our competitiveness? Do I believe in it and the emerging role that I will play in it? For the marketing team, do I believe that this will grow my company’s footsteps in this making of a winning company and, therefore, a winning team?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\n\nStep 3: Alignment to priorities against refreshed strategy\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/span><\/p>\nOnce you’ve done that, you can begin your business realignment or prioritisation strategy. Now, you need to focus on accelerating your refresh strategy and giving the greatest value in the earliest time frame. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\nDoes your current prioritisation process support this thinking? Does it ask the right questions? Are the weights responsible for a post COVID-19 mindset? In simple terms, if you put the total number of ideas into a simple prioritisation engine that you may already have today, will it provide you with the right output, therefore the right work to focus on and doesn\u2019t align back to your refreshed business strategy? Or is it purely a risk-based strategy?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\n\nStep 4: Accurate prioritisation\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/span><\/p>\nNow, it\u2019s time to pull a lever on your fictitious prioritisation engine.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\nAsk yourself: Does the output against the backlog of all my activities give me the full picture? Does it make intuitive sense? Can I look down the road to see myself gaining on the metaphorical hare and improving the company\u2019s competitiveness?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\n\nStep 5: Responsible, thorough plan\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/span><\/p>\nWhen you are satisfied with the output, then your diligent effort must go into ensuring that you do the thorough planning.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\nIntuitively, if 80% of your work is in the planning, then the execution will be so much more predictable.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\nDo not forget to answer the following questions: Do you need to do every step in the planning process? What value does each and every step add to the process? And how does it lead to improving your longer-term competitiveness?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\nIn simple terms, if it doesn\u2019t make sense, then adapt accordingly.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\n\nStep 6: Right people, processes, and systems<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/span><\/p>\n