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2020 Lessons · Enhance.training

• 0:02
  SPEAKER_00: As this year comes to a close, 2020 has certainly been memorable.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: It's been a year of first, hasn't it?
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: A year where we've all used the word unprecedented.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: A year many of us want to finish as quickly as possible and lock it away in the memory vault, never to be seen again.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: But rather than simply banish and forget about it, perhaps we'd be better to learn from it first.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: If you're new to this podcast, Enhanced.training provides online business courses to help professionals, managers, and business owners improve their performance.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: My name is Anna Taylor, and I've had a 20-year career in business management across household names like Cabries, Peroni, and Unilever.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: I've had first hand experience in helping to navigate periods of great change and of dealing with the unexpected.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: So if you like this podcast, please share it with friends and colleagues and visit us at enhance.training for more great tips on transforming your performance.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: So no director, business owner or entrepreneur will end 2020 with the same approach to business as they had at the beginning of this year.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: Now their businesses may have suffered, pivoted, or even benefited from the unforeseen events of this year, but what if anything has been learnt?
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: Well as we come to the end of this year, I've thought about my personal 2020 lessons, and I've surveyed friends, colleagues and clients, leaders and directors in multinational companies and small businesses about what they've learned in 2020.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: We've discussed the major impacts and the key business lessons that we should take forward, and I've grouped these into seven main 2020 lessons.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: So lesson one, cog in the machine.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: Because technology has been so important, and we'll all remember 2020 really for the virtual lives we led more than the real or physical ones.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, think about it, in 2019 Zoom was a little known platform, yet now it's a common verb that at some point during this year we used almost daily, you know, and their numbers echo it too.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: Did you know when it went public in April 2019, Zoom's market value was 15 million?
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: It's now worth 115 billion.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: Well, perhaps 2020 will be Zoom's best year ever, and we'll have to see.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: But in some ways, many of us are probably hoping that perhaps they never have another year quite like this one.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: The pace of technological change was already increasing well before 2020, yet this year has sent it into hyperdrive.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: I mean you just have to look at the drive towards cashless society, increase of online shopping, including groceries.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: I mean I'm sure we all remember how hard it was to get a supermarket delivery slot this year.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: Then in the workplace, we started to use either new technology or technology that we already had, but perhaps just avoided or ignored.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: I mean cloud-based everything has become the norm, and we use video conferencing more than ever, especially due to working from home.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: And that leads me to my second lesson, lesson two, working from home.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: Because before 2020, working from home was the exception, an opportunity actually given to relatively few of us.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: It was often laughed at, even called names like shirking from home.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: I would say that's pretty unjust, but then I've been fortunate and I've worked for employers who have trusted their employees and have embraced working from home for years.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: But now, as working from home became a necessity, a demand from the government even, new ways of working have had to appear.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: And those previously sceptical of working from home got to experience it to see the benefit for themselves.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: And I know many who are now complete converts to this way of working.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: Reports suggest that productivity has increased, businesses have become more trusting of their employees, and more flexible working has been granted, and teams have had to work together virtually regardless of location.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: So geography is no longer a barrier, and for this year at least, all those expensive travel and expenses budgets just had just disappeared.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: I mean I even know of companies who sent their expats back home because they could work virtually so well.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: This has saved them tens, if not hundreds of thousands of pounds.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: But no one knows what the workplace will look like next year and further ahead.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: All the surveys I've read show a preference for a hybrid model of, say, two to three days in the office and the rest are home.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: But we'll have to wait and see and we really should prepare for all options.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: Lesson three.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: It's okay to not be okay.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: Because while working from home has had its advantages, it's not all been good.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: And this year really had made us realise the need for human interaction, and the isolation is so mentally tough.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: Many have struggled to find a work-life balance with a workplace and home morphing into one.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: And managers have had to find innovative ways for social interaction and to try and try and boost staff morale, especially if those managers have had some or all of their teams on furlough.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: Because it turns out that actually we do need those kitchen catch-ups or water cooler chats or whatever you want to call them.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: More businesses have started to realise the value of their people and their mental well-being.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: They've enrolled in programmes such as Headspace or similar, and mental well-being is now more of a true focus.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: It's finally become acceptable to ask for help and not be ashamed of mental health.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: I actually still think there's some way to go on this, but we are getting there.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: And all that has happened this year has helped to fast track both the problem but also the possible solutions.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: People are a company's greatest asset, and those businesses that put their people first benefit on so many levels.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: So lesson four, survival of the fittest.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_00: Because it's not just the use of technology, working from home and mental health that have had fast track events this year, business survival has been affected too.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: And 2020 has been a particularly harsh year for business survival.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: Did you know, according to the Office of National Statistics, in the first half of this year, more than 213,000 businesses failed in the UK, which was 14% higher than last year.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: This means over 26,000 businesses failed because of the pandemic just in the first half of the year.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: And the figures half for the second half this year will be no less bleak, I'm sure, especially with giants such as the Arcadia Group and Debanham's going into administration.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: Now some argue that the pandemic has simply sped up what was already on the cards for these giants, or that the pandemic has simply sorted out the wheat from the chaff.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: Now perhaps that's harsh or perhaps it's not.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: But what is clear is that in 2020 businesses have had to work really hard to survive.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: Lesson 5.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: Adapt or die.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: Because the way the best businesses have survived this year is to adapt, whether that was with their product, their business model, their advertising, their routes to market, or any and all of the above.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: Now in previous years, you might have spent months or even years in research, planning, and getting everything just perfect before launching a new product or changing a system.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: But not this year.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: There are times to plan and take things slowly, and other times just to strike while the iron's hot, to be nimble to make the most of the situation.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: We've seen many examples throughout the year of being adaptable.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_00: For example, there's pubs and restaurants developing takeaway options almost overnight, or turning their premises into small local food markets, or even finding ways to keep serving outside even in the winter months.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_00: We've seen people on furloughs start new businesses or learn new skills.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: We've seen a whole range of brand new products.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: We now have an enormous range of masks and hand sanitizers that we certainly didn't have this time last year.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_00: I could go on and on about the innovation and adaptability that's been shown this year, but you'll be pleased to hear I won't.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: Because the point is that the businesses that have fared the best are the ones that have adapted quickest and most to the changing consumer need.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: If you put your customer first and adapt your business accordingly and do it quickly and efficiently, you will be okay.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: Lesson six.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_00: Don't forget the basics.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_00: In adapting and changing your business quickly, it is important not to forget the basics.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_00: And it's important to make sure that we don't learn the wrong lessons this year.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_00: Now the biggest of which would be that having a business plan and making forecasts are just not necessary.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: Well, yes, they can be drastically changed by events outside our control, but we do still need them.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_00: Instead, we should put plans and forecasts together, but with measures and systems in place to adapt them in the future.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: For example, to help us prepare a better plan, we can use processes such as adaptive planning or full risk analysis.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_00: Many businesses have been thrust into survival mode this year.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: They've had to go back to basics, they've had to get closer to cash flow forecasting, for example, much more than they had ever been used to.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_00: I mean when the going's good, it's very easy just to let these things slip by or perhaps take them for granted.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_00: But really we all need to keep on top of the cash cycle.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: We need to build and support relationships and processes with our suppliers and customers, and we need to do this in the good times.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: That way we have a better chance of being able to call on them when the going gets tough.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_00: I mean there's a line from a Christmas film I watched this week called Klaus said A true act of goodwill always sparks another.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: And acts of goodwill bring me on to my final lesson for this year.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: Lesson seven.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_00: Your actions in times of crisis will be remembered.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: They'll be remembered by staff, by customers, suppliers, and in fact all stakeholders.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: When I think of some great examples this year of companies doing the right thing, like Dr.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: Martin's or IKEA for returning all government furlough money in full, of large grocery retailers giving back business rate relief funds, albeit perhaps a bit tardily, some might say.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: There was the hospitality industry helping out with free school meals, even when they didn't actually have many resources themselves.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: There's neighbourhood support and community initiatives, and there was profiteering restrictions on pandemic related items on Amazon and eBay.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: But how you act in a crisis will show your true colours and people will not forget.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_00: This year advertising has also changed, reflect the mood.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_00: I've never seen so many adverts focused on asking if the consumer is all right, rather than simply trying to sell to them.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: Now, some business have businesses have perhaps been more genuine in this than others, but well I'll leave that for you to interpret and decide for yourself.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: In good times as well as bad, I would always advocate the best standards of integrity and purpose, because it really is abundantly clear which companies are genuine and which just trying to tick a box.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_00: Always aim to be the former.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_00: So from all of this, we can see that any business, whether large or small, will face new challenges on a continuous basis.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_00: Now we might be able to predict many of these challenges, well the obvious ones anyway, but there will always be new, unforeseen and unpredictable challenges.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: 2020 has perhaps been the best example of this that any of us can remember.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_00: But let's hope that 2020 will will remain almost unique in how many lessons have had to be learned so quickly by almost all of us.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: What the future will look like, well we don't know.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm sure that many will conduct studies and analyses on this year.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_00: There'll be more learnings, more interpretations.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_00: But what I do know is that smartest business leaders will manage to combine the best parts of our pre-2020 working lives and all the best lessons learnt from 2020.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: They'll create new ways of working into this coming year, coming decade and beyond.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_00: If you like this podcast, please share it with friends and colleagues and visit us at enhanced.training to find more articles, podcasts, and videos on many aspects of pricing, business management, and personal performance.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: I hope you've enjoyed listening, and I look forward to speaking to you again soon.