This Covid ‘mess’ is a real test of your business culture and other semi-interesting stuff:

(Time to read this Blog is about 3 minutes)

Greetings fellow ‘quarantiners’.  Hope you’re still safe and sane. 

1. This Covid ‘mess’ is a real test of your business culture:
    
   If you have a hierarchical organisation where all decisions are made at the highest possible level by a very small group, or one individual, you’re probably facing a major bottle-neck crisis about now.  You were probably suffering from this bottle-neck crisis before the Covid ‘mess’; but it’s just more obvious now.
    
   On the other hand, if your business has built a culture of inclusion, trust and ‘delegation with accountability’ where decision making is distributed across various levels, you’re likely fairing much better in these unusual times. Why? Because you have a culture of shared responsibility and commitment. Of course, none of this works without your ability and commitment to hire talented, good people and then to constantly develop and encourage them to be extraordinary.
    
   So, which of these two cultures exists in your business…and how can it be improved?  For insight into the 13 keys to creating a winning culture, download our new and improved ‘Business Culture Audit Tool’ # B18, no charge, click here.
    
2. Is now a good time to improve management effectiveness, sales and profitability?
    
   Now may be the perfect time to invest in improving management effectiveness, sales and profitability in your business.  Or, it might be the perfect time to address succession, exit and ‘next-gen’ challenges that have been ignored for too long.
    
   I’m currently working with three Biz Coaching clients and we’re chatting with two more about how to triple their bottom line. I have room for one additional ‘remote’ Coaching client right now.
    
   Simply put, I work with business owners and managers who want to achieve extraordinary outcomes in some or all of these 5 key areas: 
   1) Create and deliver compelling customer value and experiences that give them a clear competitive advantage, increased sales and increased profitability.
    
   2) Market and promote more effectively on a tight budget in a cynical and over-served market. There’s no point being the ‘best’ if you’re also the best kept secret.
    
   3) Attract, engage and retain a dedicated, top-performing team. Every business needs to become a ‘talent magnet’. Also, how to deal effectively with non-performers.
    
   4) Improve management effectiveness, develop world-class operating efficiency, and improve profitability now and for the long term. How to delegate and grow without losing control.
    
   5) Create a clear Vision for the future of their business, a specific Action Plan to get there, and a culture of commitment, urgency and accountability to make sure that they do. This includes developing clear ‘succession planning and exit strategies’, when required.

   If your business needs bottom-line help in any or all of these 5 key areas, click here for info on my affordable and transformational Business Coaching.

3. Cooper’s thoughts on how to keep healthy, helpful, engaged and focused:
    
   Note: I wrote this blog article a month ago…but it’s an important reminder as we all try to keep our sanity and our momentum.
    
   Many of us are cooped up at home and dealing with work, or lack of work, partners, kids, or loneliness, plus anxiety and claustrophobia. At some point in the past few weeks, we’ve all lost track of what day it is.
    
   So, here’s the thing. When our lives lack structure, focus and urgency, we become lethargic, unproductive and, often depressed. In my years in business and in coaching businesses, what I’ve observed is that once we lose our focus and sense of urgency, it’s very difficult to get it back. Many never do.
    
   So how do we snap out of it? Here are a few thoughts:

   1) Get up at the same time you used to before this mess started. You’re still in business. The business of living and working and learning and teaching and making a difference. You’re just doing it under slightly different circumstances. So, get up!
    
   2) Dress decently and comb your hair. Not because of who you might meet today…but because of who you are. Research shows that how we dress influences how we think and behave.
    
   3) Exercise and keep active. It will energize your body and reduce stress. Go for a walk, get some fresh air and see something in your neighbourhood differently. It’s Spring in the northern hemisphere. Be touched by the wonder of renewal! But, do this with the appropriate distancing.
    
   4) Go to the bank or liquor store at least once. When did you ever think you could walk into those places with a mask on and be welcomed? Live a little! Remember, ‘JOY’ is contagious too!
    
   5) Create some structure to your day. Designate specific times for work, make time for your partner or to call a friend or valued customer. Make time for teaching and then playing with your kids, if you have them. I’ve set up an hour a day of remote on-line learning with our grandson Gus. We’re exploring a ‘Word of the Day’ and a ‘Country of the Day’. I’ve created templates to guide us and we’re having a great time.
    
   Make time for teaching your kids some essential life skills (age relevant) like basic cooking, how to sew on a button, clean the house and balance a budget. Then, let them teach you about something. They know stuff.
    
   Make time to connect with, listen to and encourage somebody. As a business and as a human, to whom can you be helpful? I’m coaching a few Biz Clients who are committed to get better and a few of my professional speaker friends who I believe have something important to say. These are my ‘legacy moments’.
    
   How can your business be helpful? The media is full of incredible examples of businesses large and small doing extraordinary things to make a difference. Be inspired by these.

That’s it for this week…

Stay calm…keep safe…and do at least 3 important or kind things each day!        

Donald Cooper