Is the bear chasing you?

There is a saying:

‘When a mountain bear is chasing after you, you don’t have to outrun the bear. You only have to outrun the guy running next to you.’

It may sound callous and even selfish, but it’s not wrong. A recent McKinsey study forecasts that while the impact of COVID-19 on the world economy is in no way certain, there will be some winners and some losers across industries, organisations and individuals. Even growing and resilient industries will still see winners and losers.

Interestingly, though, this same study shows that an organisation only has to be 10% better than their competition to beat them, and to therefore survive and not get eaten!

As we resurrect the economy, our businesses and our careers, what is going to give you that 10% edge? The bear is chasing us. The question is, how do you outrun everyone else?

There are opportunities to improve your performance across all areas of your business but the most critical is always your people. The following are key to developing and keeping the best team possible.

• Getting the right people. Having the wrong people on your team can be very costly. With unemployment rising, many people will be looking for work. Make sure anyone you engage is definitely the right person for the job and the right fit for your organisation. Not only the person who is available.
• Keeping the right team engaged and motivated. Budgets are tight but it doesn’t cost anything to continue listening to your team members and making sure they stay engaged and committed.  You want the people in your team to want to be there because they want to be, not because they can’t get another job at the moment.
• Developing your team. As teams are restructured and become leaner it is vital to take the time to continue to develop and lift the capability of each of your team members. For most organisations there will be less people doing more work, so it is critical that they have the skills and support to do their best.

It is also important to remember that you must continue to invest in yourself and your own skills to give yourself the edge to keep ahead of the guy running next to you.