Some time ago, the great Michael Schumacher, a seven-time, international Formula One race car champion between 1994 and 2004, was asked a question about the governing bodies rule change to types when he was racing and why he seemed to handle it so much better than others, from a performance perspective.
His response might be something for us to consider.
His attitude was ‘it is what it is’ which in turn led to his actions. He said he chose to brake later than everyone else, be conservative on the apex (bend) and then accelerate harder and earlier than his competitors. If you relate this thinking to where we are at in terms of our response to COVID-19, I figure we are still in the bend, so it’s time to be conservative.
However, here in Australia and in New Zealand, we should be getting the throttle ready to accelerate aggressively.
COVID-19 follows the opposite of the Schumacher cornering approach. It escalated fast, will come to a peak, and will only de-escalate under the careful observation and control of the authorities as they guide us out of the danger zone. The COVID-19 crisis follows a semi-predictable process, which we need to reverse in terms of managing how we respond to it. A bit like the great Schumacher did when he confronted the change of tyre ruling, when he was racing.
Brake hard – be conservative and gather yourself – then accelerate hard.
This APEX in the corner we are in now offers leaders an opportunity to form an attacking response in preparation to accelerate hard on the way out.
Used wisely, the APEX creates time and space to respond to the immediate impact, whilst also allowing time to design a new future for your business and your team. Capitalising on this opportunity is dependent on your ability to adapt in real-time, in the context of a dynamic environment, whilst pressing hard on a shift towards an emergent strategy.
It would be easy for a leader to fall into the trap of slipping into a survival mentality – ‘we can wait out the battle over head’ but this would be wrong. There is significant danger in shutting down the mind and your sense of orgency around performance with this mindset.
Remember, performance is what business is about.
Consider these four steps to assist you in accelerating out of the corner:
- Identify current state: The pressure of COVID-19 will do this work for you, but you need to be aware of your strengths and weaknesses at all levels and in all departments across your business.
- Accept what changes need to be made: Consider how to reshape your organisation in response to the shifting reality of the crisis and how this will impact your team/s ways of working and service to customers.
- Align your leadership team and the rest of the organisation to the change plan: Garner acceptance through direct and open communication, delivering on your team/s need for a thorough understanding of the changes to commit to the plan.
- Implement changes and test new protocols: Review regularly and tweak when and where necessary.
Once the crisis peaks and starts to de-escalate, organisations and teams who actively choose their future, by aggressively accelerating out of the corner regardless of the current state, will reap significant performance gains in the market. Even more important, these organisations will create a greater connection to their customer and their needs.
Don’t get left behind – prepare to accelerate.
