3 questions leaders should be asking to thrive in a post-lockdown world

As the world S-L-O-W-L-Y reopens, business leaders should be preparing to reenter into a post-lockdown world. Operating in a lockdown environment while challenging also presents some opportunities. There have been new skills identified, new processes created, and implemented, making this a great time to assess the current condition and ask three questions to thrive in this “new normal”.

Question #1:What to STOP?

What should your organization NOT continue from its old ways as it begins to reopen? The easy answer is stopping legacy behaviors. Here are a few examples…

Believing that business will return to the way it was: With 1 out of 5 people in the United States enrolling in unemployment benefits, the world is economically in a place most of us have never experienced before. This means the business plans, proficiencies, and processes that were created for 2020 are obsolete.

Believing that business can only be fruitful if they work face to face: Clearly, many jobs truly do require person-to-person contact; however, as we have just learned, many jobs can provide the same or, in some cases, better outcomes using a virtual environment. Online channels and the adoption of tools provided have experienced experiential growth. This change has proven that both members/customers, as well as employees, CAN make the leap to technology, and we should expect and encourage that trend to continue.

Believing innovation is something other people/companies do: If there’s anything we have learned above all else, it’s the power to change, pivot, and innovate.

Question #2: What to START?

Strengthening the ability to pivot: Please visit the blog Shift happens – what is your pivot strategy

Great time for a strategic do-over: Taking the time to assess your current condition and re-doing your strategic plans will provide clarity to the organization and its people.

Make innovation a strategic capability: Most organizations have proven they have what it takes to make an incredible change. Now is a great time to formalize an innovation process and build innovation as a strategic capability.

Question #3: What to KEEP?

Putting the members/customers first: Many credit unions have stepped in and stepped up to help members face these economic challenging times with loans to help keep food on the table, deferring loan payments, as well as funding PPP loans. This a spectacular moment for credit unions to remind the world what they can and will do to help serve their members and their communities.

Continuing the growth mindset: Looking at problems from the growth mindset, what will we/can we do is a powerful new skill set. Don’t let this new superpower go. Continue to nurture the ability to reach higher, face the unknown fearlessly and keep on going.

The recognition power of good: The brighter moments in the world have been brought by the recognition of the good that people/businesses have been doing during the darkest hours. As leaders, this a powerful tool that should not be used only in times of crisis. Continue looking for the good out there and recognize those who are giving it regardless of scale.

Looking for more ways to THRIVE in today’s current condition?

The answers are found in all that glorious/robust data that is just waiting to be leveraged in strategies to create revolutionary member relationships.

Not certain where to start?

Start with a quick and easy read of Big Data/Big Climb: A credit Union playbook for leveraging data and talent to achieve revolutionary member relationships, the best foundational primer on data transformation available to the credit union industry. This must-have book cuts through techno-jargon and translates data transformation concepts into a playbook filled with real-world examples, assessment guides, and other tools needed to reduce member friction, analyze actual competition, and identify disruption to improve the lives of its members and gain competitive advantage.