Coordinates 04.20.02
Welcome to Coordinates 04.20.02
Can you believe it’s the end of April? On the one hand, it’s hard to imagine that we’re already at this point in the year. Yet, doesn’t it seem like the last 2 months have been a year? The essence of time is mysterious.
A reflection on time is one of the unique aspects of the pandemic. We all need to move between different modes of viewing time—from being in the moment, managing the now to forecasting future possible horizons and scenarios. The further out view has to be considered and taken on, yet can become overwhelming. I find that I have to come back into the now to settle in and get centered again. It’s a unique task for us to manage the now and build for the future. Perhaps that’s always the case in business, but it’s that much more critical now and at a time when the future has shifted and is so uncertain.
In this Coordinates, with this view, we focus on Agility. We had planned this topic for spring even before Covid-19 landed on our shores. Spring, the season of rebirth, seemed like the appropriate time to talk about looking at how to do things differently. We offer two agile views below, one on overall business and organizations and the other on marketing. Additional resources below start to get us thinking forward to what’s next as we navigate the waves ahead.
No matter where you are around the world and how the pandemic is impacting you in your local environment, I really hope you are finding time to take care of yourself and recharge. I think all of us need that reminder. This is going to be a marathon, and if we don’t care for ourselves, we won’t be able to be our best selves for others.
Also, I’d like to offer again—if there is a topic or need you have that would be helpful for me to research, please let me know. I’d also love to hear what’s on your mind and what you might be trying to get your head around during this time.
Please take care and be safe.
Kathy
Leadership Corner
Embracing Agile - For your organization & business, For marketing
How to Foster Organizational Agility—A Primer
Is your company scrambling amidst the Covid-19 virus and its impact to your business? If you haven’t been motivated to invest in your organization’s agility, this pandemic presents a real-life situation that brings the need into sharp focus. Regardless if it’s this virus or a natural disaster or a change in the business environment, we all know times are uncertain, but what keeps us from figuring out how to make our organizations more agile and to truly live in agility?
There’s a pay-off for those companies that invest in agility and make it work. An MIT study found that agile companies grow revenue 37 percent faster and generate 30 percent higher profits than non-agile companies.
Agility takes leadership and investing in an organizational structure and culture that supports it.
Read the full article here >
All Marketing Needs to be Agile Now—Getting Started
As we all come to grips with what Covid-19 means for our daily lives, it’s important for marketers to recognize that consumer mindsets are shifting regularly. Just use yourself as a barometer. Now put yourself into your customer’s shoes. Of course, each business, brand, and product category will be different, but what’s not different is the fact that consumer mindsets will be shifting regularly as we adjust to new realities. For a brand and its marketing, don’t think that one review and pass at adjusting your plans will do the trick. During this time, say the next 12 to 24 months, it’s going to take constant adjustment.
For this reason, if you haven’t applied Agile Marketing to your business and brands, you should think about adopting some of its philosophies now. Being agile is really rooted in the idea of responding to the market and your consumer’s needs more quickly as they change and as you learn.
Insights to Inspire to Action
Business Strategy Tips for the Time of Covid-19
McKinsey offers insights on Covid-19 impacts to business. The firm’s detailed report on global health and crisis response is full of detail from economic forecasts to what reopening the economy might look like, offered if you’d like to go deep.
Great guidance and examples on how to lead during this pandemic.
An inspiring model for leadership now—truth, values, principles, hope, humility.
Just Capital is tracking how companies are treating stakeholders amidst the pandemic. Will consumers hold them responsible? Will they be reasonable given the economic hardship these companies are navigating?
SY Partners shares ideas for transforming your business forward during this crisis.
What’s Happening in the Economy
A view of retail results, with clothing being the hardest hit, down -50%.
A quick snapshot of how U.S. spending has shifted.
What the Future Might Hold
Will we take advantage of this moment, rethinking capitalism and what’s possible?
A realistic view of what is likely to be a long road to recovery. (Note: Don’t read if you’re not in the mood for a sobering perspective.)
Yet, for a more positive view of what can take shape, read the collective wisdom shared here.
On Watch, Take Notice
What's Trending
Our quick-hit forecast on what we see taking shape in the world during and post Covid-19:
More remote work, yes, but not as much as people think. We’ll miss being with other humans. But some degree of distributed teams will stick.
A move away from certain big cities like New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles both to get away from density and cost.
Retail will change as we know it—in the short-term and long-term. Fewer retailers will survive in the short-term. Browsing will be altered with less to no touching of goods. More showrooming from afar. Contactless payments will take hold. And so on.
Businesses will rethink their supply chains for resilience leading to more onshoring and nearshoring.
Digital Transformation accelerates, supporting the demand for convenience from food delivery to online grocery shopping to eCommerce. Yet, more people will go back to traditional forms of shopping and dining when it is safe to do so. We’re craving it already.
Mental health will become normalized as the majority of us deal with the emotional aftermath of this pandemic.
Bicycling or scooting as a means of transportation will increase as city commuters move away from mass transit.
We will become more local (both because we’ll want to and because we can’t go far and can’t be with many people), seeking to help and rely on those people, friends, neighbors, family, businesses, organizations, and our local government that are closest to us.
We will see each other as complete human beings with full, rich lives that are professional and personal.
We’ll establish a new set of boundaries around our personal lives. We will no longer be “on” for work 24/7 as our worlds have blended so dramatically.
We’ll seek new types of experiences that offer social connection not delivered via social media or Zoom and provides richer, deeper engagement.
Our relationship to privacy will continue to be mixed. We’ll have a desire for it, yet there will be a demand to relinquish it (e.g., contact tracing).
Book in Brief
“Emotional Agility” by Susan David
A great read for this time of uncertainty. Learn how to be emotionally agile to come out thriving.
Read more about the book here >
Listen to a podcast with Dr. Susan David here >
If you're inclined, get the book here >
Worth a Listen
I appreciated these two podcasts from After Hours, which continues to be one of my favorite Podcasts out there:
Predictions for the New Normal - What we can expect as we move forward in living through this pandemic.
Reimagining Capitalism - A great conversation with fellow Harvard Business School professor, Rebecca Henderson, on her book and insights on how we can reinvent capitalism for the better, coming from a wholehearted belief in capitalism and inspired by a passion for nature.
“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.” - Maya Angelou
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The Agency Oneto is a disciplined yet agile business and brand strategy agency whose mission is to partner with leaders to make a positive impact on their business and brands and for their consumers and teams, unlocking potential.
We help you build and grow your brand or help you make a positive change to your business. We offer services in Business Strategy, Brand Strategy, Portfolio Strategy, Brand & Product Positioning, Brand Architecture, Marketing Strategy, Content Strategy, Innovation Strategy & Process, Consumer Insights, and Trend Analysis.
We also lead workshops and facilitate strategy and business planning sessions, provide advisory services, and offer Executive Coaching.