Where Did All the Toilet Paper Go?
Seriously, who knew TP and yeast would be the hottest “must haves” of the pandemic?
What other resources have you been thinking about differently, allocating to new activities, or shoring up?
What resources do you have now – any new ones? Are you coming from a scarcity mindset? How are you aligning your resources with your strategic plan?
What Are Your Resources?
There is, of course, financial capital which, for many individuals and companies alike, is pretty tight right now.
Human capital - the skills, talent and capabilities of your team members. Now, is a great time to reassess and evaluate strengths.
Social Capital – the collective value of our relationships. This can be your relationships with your team, customers, or network. This is a great time to be building your social capital. Where can you build strategic relationships – through an organization or someone you know? Maybe you are putting more time into certain relationships and fostering new bonds.
Technology – the hardware, software and tools, as well as your IT support function.
Last, the two biggies, time and energy. It is important to manage both, but time is finite, and energy can be renewed. So much has been written recently about self-care. The goodies – eat well, get sleep, exercise, hydrate, meditate, do yoga, take a walk – do wonders to restore energy, so can laughter (turn on a comedy!), time with your kids, or a creative outlet. Pick what works for you.
A Scarcity Mindset
I approach this one a wee bit torn because I do believe in the power of an abundance mindset. Yet, I think we have also seen following the dot-com bust, 9/11, and the 2008 financial crisis, that out of a place of scarcity comes innovation.
A scarcity mindset means many things, good and bad, but in this context, I will look at a few positives. It forces you to think about the necessary tradeoffs and prioritize when making decisions about where to focus your resources and efforts. It focuses us on our present needs and there is a greater sense of urgency. You just don’t have the time and money – to go over it 100 times or collect every data point.
It has forced many companies to cut excess costs and people, but that only gets us so far. Yes, we become more efficient but are we going to thrive? You can only streamline so much. If you pile on more work with fewer people you need them to give more time and energy, -- their most precious resources. Invest more in your people don’t just ask them for longer hours.
With a sense of scarcity, I believe you are propelled forward. You can’t stand still if you want to survive. You have to get a lot more creative to find the opportunities and maybe it is easier to make the bold decisions if you feel you have less at risk.
Being in Alignment
As a founder, or CEO of your own life, we have all been reassessing strategic goals and plans, considering whether we need to pivot and how, and looking for opportunities and white space.
We should be shifting our resources around to exploit emerging opportunities – maybe there is a new way to use a skill or talent. How can you redirect your team’s strengths? A relationship that you haven’t thought of in a long time that opens a new door.
As companies are developing new strategic plans, for example, creating new services and products or changing the way they deliver them, successful execution will depend on aligning your resources with your objectives. You may need to shift budget, move people, or add technology.
This crisis has forced many of us to look at what resources we have, what we might be missing or want more of, and how we should be shifting them as our priorities shift. For some, baking bread is what they need now.
If you want to talk about your resource allocation decisions reach out to me at www.k8carney.com
