The 4th wave in Sri Lanka due to Covid-19 Delta virus….
View(s):Just as companies were coming out of the 3rd wave after a semi lock down, we see once-again the virus sparking with 186 deaths and almost four thousand getting infected. The spike in the infection rate due to the Delta variant is driving many companies to put their shutters up and specially FMCG companies to a challenging time. This latest twist in the Covid-19 pandemic is bringing six principles that I feel is worth discussing this week.
1) Chose people over money
Even though vaccinated people are at a far lower risk of contracting Covid-19 we see that even the double doze of the vaccination are contracting the decease and some are even dying. Let’s accept it we have to put the employee well being as the top priority than just the economic ramifications that the government is advocating. The logic being that even if a short term hit happens to the revenue we cannot lose the talent that a company has built over the years.
2) Practice the Emergent Strategy
Be flexible meaning rather than activating a pre planned business plan, be adaptive and see how the environment forces are working. Do not rush to decisions. Watch what competitors are doing and take a leaf from them. Be bold and aggressive. We see the real talent of companies now emerging. As my former boss said ‘ the best surfers emerge in trouble waters’. Give space to employees. Let the fearless come forward and try innovative ideas.
3) Increase the share of voice
Let’s accept it, being open to new ideas is tough to accept at a time when working capital is a challenge and so is it to invest on innovative ideas. But let’s not forget that good leaders recognise this anxiety among employees who are slow to adopt to me ways of working and the only was to address this is by increasing the communication inside the company. This helps to defuse or reduce it, rather than feeding to fears. The Hindustan Lever Chairman said that his primary job daily is to talk talk to the top 40 leaders in side the company on how they feel and how their families are keeping than focusing on work. The strategy worked as the numbers where the best in the last financial year.
4) Move to impact
Have you noticed that the proportion of employed people who worked at home almost doubled during the pandemic. This shift demonstrated the viability of remote work for many jobs and to deliver the numbers. We saw a sea change among Sri Lankan leaders who are more control driven suddenly having to focus on the results achieved than on the process followed. Still, many leaders remain worried about moving permanently to remote work, and some harbor concerns about the impacts on productivity, innovation, or culture. While there may certainly be risks in each of these areas, there are some offsetting benefits, too, if remote work is done right.
5) Don’t rush
Whilst we are heading to the 4th wave and a strong possibility for another lockdown to curtail the virus. Let’s accept it we must not predict too much on the how the future will pan out. To be honest no one is sure as non of the countries above the curve actually practices a total lockdown. The logic being that countries don’t want to disrupt the supply chain in a country. It takes a lot of effort and time to re build. This is the reality. Let the future evolve. Take one day at a time.
Dr Athukorala is the Country Head for the top Artificial Intelligence( AI) company in South Asia for brand mapping Clootrack. He is an alumni of Harvard University.