Imperatives for leading in the new reality - Covid 19

The unprecedented situation thrown up by Covid 19 has made the organisations to strategies and realign the work under changed environment. The expectation and premium on leadership have never been so high. Business leaders need to work on the approach and potentialities listed below to create a collective narrative of hope and undertake bold collective actions.

Humanitarian

1. Protect employees and customers. The employees and customers are most vulnerable under current situation and efforts should be made to protect them in every possible way.
2. An early clear & transparent communication on the changing situation should be made to all stakeholders.
3. Organisational resource should be leveraged to support staff and their families and the resources should be ethically utilised.
4. The management and those in the charge of the organisation should lead by example.
5. Work from Home (WFH) is the order of the day and efforts should be made to make WFH easy & productive.
6. There is no acceptable trade-off between human suffering and wealth. Organisations should adjust to flattening the wealth curve to reflect values for lives and livelihoods.

Strategic

1. Define Minimum Viable Options available and allocate resource accordingly.
2. Look for better outcomes but prepare and prioritize the worst off, be decisive in trade off.
3. Work on consistent inclusiveness, improve business resilience and act on new opportunities for continuity.
4. Detect early sign of demand pick up, follow the developments through macro and regulatory trackers. Stay informed and updated.
5. Set up cross functional teams and include stress test as part of all business plans, control chaos.
6. Prepare for Digital transformation. The digital transformations need to be holistic, considering human side of digital transformation also in incorporating new ways of working.

Fiscal

1. Stay liquid, prepare periodic cash flow and keep it updated with developments for review. 
2. Re negotiate the fiscal terms with stakeholders.
3. Take “no-regret “action to stabilise cashflow, however at the same time give visibility to suppliers and be considerate in payments. 
4. Wealth creation for the stakeholders remains the objective of business but should not be the sole criteria of business.