YOU WANT GROUP: Lessons Learned From The Covid-19 Pandemic

If the Covid-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that we simply cannot prepare for every eventuality in business and that some events will be interrupting, stressful and hard to deal with. You may have no control, whatsoever, over these events, in fact.

So How Do You Bounce Back? 

The question then becomes not so much “what do I do if another Covid-like event takes place in terms of preparation, etc.?” but more “what can we do to get back on our feet fast if such a thing happens?”

This, of course, means approaching business in an entirely new way. The important thing to begin with is a resilience strategy.

Think of this as the old “crisis management” plan but with less emphasis on the specifics of what will happen and more emphasis on the “what could we do to stay afloat in any crisis and how could we thrive in such events?”

An Example Of This

You Want Group is all about helping business develop strategies for their objectives. Yet, when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, they found themselves in the same situation as everyone else.

They couldn’t go and see their clients because of lockdowns. Health protocols were making everyone’s day longer and less convenient which meant less time for meetings. And so on…

But due to their emphasis on mindfulness and being present in their day-to-day work, they knew that they could use this an opportunity to bounce back better than they were before.

They closed the physical business and rebranded it. Then, they launched a new website and online programs that enabled the work to be done, wherever the strategist and the client were based.

They also realized that if they had to overcome these challenges, so did their clients, and they were able to offer business advisory, HR advisory, leadership training, outsourcing management and more to ensure that their B2B client base was also able to thrive in a market where everyone else was struggling.

This didn’t mean that the Covid-19 pandemic was neglected. People were prioritized over processes at every step of the way. A business with a mindfulness culture is one which understands the value of a team in carrying out that business and thus, the team must thrive in order for the business to thrive.

The You Want Group, thus, also changed the way that they worked as individuals and teams. Shaking up communication workflows to suit distributed working and client interaction. And supporting the positive mindset needed for each person within the business to succeed.

It worked too. The company raised large amounts of money for Project Karma, Mental Health Foundation Australia, and B1G1. And their leader, Iris, launched an Amazon best-selling book and they won multiple international business awards too.

The Last Word On Bouncing Back
Bouncing back from the unknown is a real challenge but it can be done. The key is to have strategies in place that can inform your decision making.