Pivot! Again

For those of you who somehow missed the 1990s…

…That’s an episode of Friends – the one where Ross, Chandler and Rachel try to get a sofa up some awkward stairs.

Ross famously yells: “Pivot!” all the way up.

Most of us have spent the COVID crisis following Ross’s advice.

You’ve probably had to rethink your business model – or the way you operate…

You might have changed your products, switched to remote working, adjusted your processes or furloughed staff.

You probably implemented changes you would previously never have believed possible, at a record speed. It’s been a heroic effort.

But now, with the vaccine imminent, most people can’t wait to return to “normal”.

I think most companies accept that this doesn’t mean returning to the exact reality as before.

Everyone understands that some level of remote working is here to stay. Business travel is going to be curtailed for years. And if you’re operating with a smaller or different team than before, that will have an impact.

But overall, there’s an eagerness to get back into a more familiar routine and way of doing things…

And just to be able to relax a bit…

To work solidly without feeling constantly on your toes, thinking about how to change and adjust.

I get it. This has been the most incredibly stressful year.

So it’s only natural that business owners are tired… Of course a few quiet months of “normal” and “familiar” sound good!

But it’s a shame and a mistake.

Businesses either move forward or go backwards. You can’t stand still.

And being able to adapt and innovate is key to keeping your company competitive.

That’s going to be truer than ever in the coming months, because the “new normal” is not going to look anything like the “old normal”.

Yes, we might get the pandemic under control. But the UK is deeper in debt than ever before. The global economy is in the doldrums. And we’re about to face Brexit.

You need to stay agile in order to navigate the coming challenges.

I’m reluctant to say that the COVID disaster has had any positives when so many people have died and had their livelihoods destroyed.

But if there has been one, it’s been businesses developing a mindset for innovation and quick change.

Don’t let this go.

As we emerge from the Coronavirus crisis, keep pivoting!

You do not have to settle back into a comfortable routine of slow, cautious adjustments to your strategy and operations.

You should still be aiming for bigger, bolder changes to your company.

Many of the changes of the past few months have been imposed on you. Now is your chance to implement the changes YOU want to see – perhaps changes which you’ve been thinking about for years, but which have always seemed too big or too ambitious to tackle.

Take advantage of the fact that your team has not yet settled back into “normal” routine. The experience of innovation and change is still fresh in their minds.

Build on that, and make pivoting a normal part of your company culture.

One area where you might consider a significant change is your finances.

Many companies are held back by financial management which they outgrew years ago. Even after passing £1 million or £2 million turnover, they still work without proper financial reports, without reliable numbers, without smooth and effective financial systems and controls – just like they did when they were much smaller start-ups.

If that’s the case for you, you probably sense something is very wrong…

You may be continually frustrated by numbers that don’t make sense.

You resent making decisions about the future of your company without understanding the full financial implications.

Maybe you’ve even had a nasty financial shock at some point – like an unexpected VAT bill or a moment where you wondered whether you’d be able to cover payroll that month.

The problem is, fixing this has always seemed like an enormous, complicated task…

You might not even know where to start.

So every year, you vow to tackle it – “later”.

I hope that the last few months have shown you that you don’t need to wait. You’ve got your business through the challenges of Coronavirus – upgrading your financial management is a really tiny task by comparison.

What’s more, we can make it so incredibly easy for you.

With our Outsourced Finance Department solution, you don’t have to figure out what structure your finance department should have, what changes are necessary or stress about hiring new staff.

We take responsibility for everything – and come with turnkey processes, which start working for you on Day 1.

This will be the fastest, easiest pivot you’ve ever made. And because working with world-class financial management can drive incredible growth, it’ll be one of the most rewarding, too.

Now’s the time to make this improvement.

To find out more, click here.

Warmly,

Garry