Navigating out of Major Disruption

Navigating out of Major Disruption

Navigating out of Major Disruption

Pa r t ne r s in Change

Introduction

None of us have ever known a period like this. At a time when the UK economy shrank by more than 20% in one month every individual and every organisation is having to grapple with what the future might be and what they want their place in that future to be. To make things more challenging there are still so many things that we don’t know; so many aspects of the new normal that have still to take shape, settle and be understood. A few fortunate organisations will be thriving, especially those with a compelling digital presence and a desirable product. At the other extreme some will be in rescue mode, teetering on the edge and having to take drastic action to stay afloat. Most organisations will find themselves somewhere in the middle, getting by and surviving in a tide that is now running much harder against us than could have been expected a few short months ago; the focus has to be on rescuing what is there and moving on in the best possible way.

Time is precious, business-as-usual is not an option and decisions need to be made. Whichever state you’re in it’s helpful to think in terms of three distinct phases that you’re going through: 1. Reviewing your situation and making sure that you’re focused on the right things 2. Redirecting your resources to ensure you are doing these things in the right way 3. Realising the benefits and establishing the outcomes that you need Whether you are in rescue or survive mode, or even if you are lucky enough to be thriving, it is helpful to think of the journey ahead in three broad phases, with broad actions as indicated below, actions which are expanded upon in subsequent pages.

It’s no surprise if any of us, including leaders, feel uncertain Are you thriving, with unexpected wind in your sails and a running tide; do you need to be rescued having been holed, with shredded sails, high seas and wind and tide against you? Or are you just surviving, all of a sudden the wind and tide have turned against you and you’re down on crew. Whatever your situation, are you up to the challenges? • To do less, focusing on the vital few things that will make a difference • To re-energise your crew when there are still many challenges and uncertainties • To reorganise so that you are as efficient and lean as you can possibly be

Review Doing the right things

Redirect Doing them right Mobilise quickly and well

Realise Seeing the results Deliver quick-wins and ‘fail fast’

Identify the rising stars

Thrive

Rightsize and lose weight

Reduce drag and increase speed

Recognise, re-invest and recover

Survive

Stop haemorrhages Focus on essentials

Stop things and eliminate waste

Rescue

Keep going

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Navigating out of Major Disruption

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Importantly As any organisation emerges from a crisis, emotions are likely to be running high. In this environment decision-making can become highly charged. To get around this we recommend during this review stage that an objective basis is created against which decisions are made. This is best achieved by getting all key decision-makers together with the aim of agreeing this framework in a single session.

Phase 1 - Review

This first step is concerned with reviewing the landscape in which you are now operating, understanding what has changed and what this might mean for you.

• Think about what has changed due to Covid-19. For example digital capability in retail, remote working in most sectors and supply chain challenges in manufacturing. • Have you thought about all of your customers, colleagues, suppliers, regulators and competitors? • Are you looking at all the angles? For example, delivery resource, available funds, management bandwidth and market conditions. • Review the landscape and decide if you are thriving, surviving or in need of rescue. • Review the consistency of this across all areas. • The commercial environment. • Look at the customer demand, supplier and supply availability. • Revise appropriate models, plans and forecasts. • Clarify the gaps to be closed, or opportunities to capitalise on in areas where you are thriving. Consider Where to focus

Hints and tips • Identify the big assumptions and sensitivities. • Understand what the impact of these will be if they vary from expected. • Beware of any over-optimism. Covid- 19 is likely to have a long economic tail. • Be aware of pet projects - stopping these is often problematic. • Not everyone will agree on the new reality and what matters going forward. • Not everyone will have the same view on risk. • You haven’t got the luxury of lots of time for detailed assessment – you just need enough direction and detail to enable progress to be made. Caution! • Beware over-optimism in delivery. If you were struggling before it’s highly unlikely things will now be better. • Make sure you factor in downstream uncertainty; there’s much that none of us know.

• Have you looked for new opportunities that may now have arisen? • Are you clear on the capacity you have and whether this capacity will be available to you? • Are you still aligned on principles and priorities? It will be difficult to make progress if you are not. • Are the right people ready to make the for tough decisions needed? • Reconfirm key drivers and outcomes required so these can inform criteria for assessing opportunities. • Review the approach to risk. In rescue you may need to increase risk; in thrive you may want to. • Review BAU areas, change plans and overall priorities. • Iterate until there is a good blend and a broad agreement on priorities going forward. • Do a careful final check to flag up possible unintended consequences to watch out for.

• Review the overall attitude to risk and specific attitude in key areas. • Beware interdependences and logically grouped programmes. • Changes close to delivery should be allowed to complete as a principle. • Time-box this activity to force decision making and create pace.

• Check for key stakeholder impacts - which stakeholders needs special care and attention?

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