Today I was reading an article on a well-known Croatian business portal, and one of the author's sentences caught my eye, which goes something like this: "Now we will pay for all the time we did not focus on human resources (HR ) and applied business psychology." We were bosses, not leaders. And as bosses, we did not lead people and gradually develop them by investing in them, but rather micromanaged and "putted out fires." And of course, our business was completely unprepared for the coronavirus. We did not prepare the ground.
As an organizational psychologist, I cannot disagree with the author of that article. But I will apologize right away for starting with a negative. We cannot undo the past, we can only cry over spilt milk. However, the more we cry, the more time we waste that we could have invested in much more productive things. Let's not sink into depression and whine (as much as that might be justified at this point), but let's see what can be done. I always tell all my clients who come to me for coaching or psychological counseling, and I will do so now.
Dark thoughts about closing down a company and iceland whatsapp data financial ruin have crossed every entrepreneur's mind at least once these days. And it is inevitable that due to the upcoming economic crisis, we will need to make changes to the way we do business. As a psychologist and coach, I will not give you advice on what you should do with your company (after all, you know that best), but I can ask you a few useful questions to think about.
Business consultants who are much more experienced than me will say that any transformation of our business should always be preceded by a personal transformation of ourselves. It will not work without it. Some of you may be asking yourself these questions for the first time in your life. Some will wave their hands and consider them funny or stupid, which is also fine. I leave the choice to you.
Is it time for brutal cost cutting?
This is one of the first thoughts that will come to mind – because we are still facing a recession. I am not an economist, but through running my own business I have come to love numbers, because they are very transparent. What are your average monthly expenses? What will your upcoming expenses be? And your income? What will be the difference between those two components? Can I save somewhere? Can I “survive” without something? Should I (and can I) continue spending the way I have been doing so far? Do I have savings? If so, how much? And how much of that can I set aside to temporarily “save” my business and employees?
Prompted by another article I read these days, I will address the dilemma that some of you may be having right now – should you invest in (digital) marketing at this time? Some of you may see it as an unnecessary expense. Some may feel that they don't need it. However, marketing in this situation may be the most important move you will make. And this article may also convince you otherwise.