Many of us are experiencing a downturn in revenue and our aspirational targets for this financial year are becoming unrealistic goals.
We have experienced the heady heights of double-digit growth over the years, but the pandemic has put a brake on that.
Sure, the wise thing to do is take stock, mitigate the damage and seek a path forward.
What we also can do is plan for victory. Plan for success. Plan for the upturn.
Every sporting team or individual athletic pursuit has a victory dance, or gesture, or signal to self-congratulate their achievement. The celebrations emerge at micro-moments, end of events and end of competitions. They emerge at every incremental improvement.
High-fives, arms in the air, team song, champagne popping, little jigs – they all appear at every possible up-step.
A business leader mainly has words to use at times like these.
During these leaner times, leaders can plan to have the right words ready for when the upturn does kick in.
Fist pumps and chest bumps happen almost spontaneously in the moment, but words in such moments, even the most heartfelt expressions, require some preparation. Leaders recognise this and prepare for the moment. They are ready with just the right phrase that captures what everyone is feeling and thinking. Those words become imprinted in the heart of a team for weeks and months, sometimes years. Such messages need to be authentic — no one else can craft them.
During these lean times, it is time to get ready for victory.