Don't lose your momentum through this turn; be ready to accelerate

I know that this is a crazy time for all of us - with so much that is unknown and unprecedented.  The new normal, is that nothing we knew back in February applies today.  Our forecasts, estimates and predictions are all off, by a long shot.  A few of us are doing well in capitalizing on the near term opportunities that have been presented, a few of us are building new businesses to meet a new set of needs, but many of us are still in wait and see mode.

I have been using this analog with with many of my clients, partners, and colleagues to help understand how we should be looking at the new world we live and work in.

Many of you may know that I love cars and race cars at that.  When you are racing on street circuits or formula one style tracks, there are always twists and turns to the track, before cycling back around.  The goal when racing is to get through the challenging turns with as much speed and momentum as you can, so that you can accelerate out of the turn.

I felt like this is a timely way of thinking about our business climate.  We all know that there are twists and turns and sure COVID19 is a big one.  However, we can not just hit the brakes hard and stop all of our momentum.  And perhaps your business is not one which  can just press on like you are on a straight-away.  For the bulk of us, we do need to pump to the brakes.  The key is to do so in a way where we do not lose all of our speed or all of our business momentum.  Find a way to carry that momentum into the COVID19 turn, so that as we see the like apex of the turn, we can begin to step on the accelerator and build up speed out of the turn.  If you hit the brakes too hard on your business, it will take you a ton of new energy and force to build up new momentum to get back into the race.

My advice is to find ways you can carry some speed and keep the momentum going, so that as we emerge from the this turn, you are still in the race.

Remember your business purpose.  Remember why your business exists.  Remember the people, the customers you serve. Remember your team.

Keep the car running, don’t lose your momentum, and get ready to accelerate.