The impact of COVID-19 (aka coronavirus) has been swift and severe.
Governments around the world are scrambling to respond, business and civic leadership struggle to reassure, and last week the stock market took a giant nosedive, losing over $3 trillion in market value.
At the same time, Zoom Video Communications’ stock has risen dramatically, and Zoom has added 2.22 million monthly active users so far this year — that’s more than the 1.99 million it added during all of 2019.
This statistic points to a powerful, sobering truth: In times of crisis, smart software solves problems — both expected and unexpected.
Smart software means peace of mind and crisis-ready process at the top of the house. In a world where chaos is the new normal, leaders need to be agile and have the real-time intelligence to do great work.
Here’s why NOW is the time for top of house teams to adopt smart software.
CRISIS DOESN’T WAIT. In a world where fear can cause massive shifts in the stock market, leaders must be ready to react to these kinds of black swan events at the drop of a hat. Preparing for the unexpected is part of doing business. Whether it is the coronavirus, a stock market drop off, or an internal company crisis, there is always less time to react than you need.
The people who need to communicate earliest and most often in a crisis are the board and the c-suite. Crisis is when we need agile teams at the top of the house. Oddly, it is the top of house teams who often have the least interconnectedness. It’s an anachronism. A crisis doesn’t wait until you are ready. Smart software is ready when you are.
TRAVEL IS VULNERABLE. Annual meeting season usually means one thing: travel. But experts project that the Coronavirus will impact all kinds of group gatherings. They are recommending that people prepare for possible school closures, travel disruption, and market disruptions. What is traditionally a gathering of the board in person may need to be, for the first time, a gathering of the board over the web. The norms of business will need to adjust.
While the Coronavirus scare may feel temporary, this kind of communication challenge — and interruption to our business norms — is only becoming more common. The truth is that as businesses embrace remote work, they are beginning to see travel as less of a luxury and more of an expensive inefficiency that can be problematic for the environment, unreliable, and potentially bad for your health. The future of agile work is in the cloud.
COMMUNICATION DEMANDS CONTEXT. Remote meetings help minimize the threat to public health by reducing our risk of passing a virus from person to person. Video conferencing feels personal, unlike phone-only conference calls, and can provide a secure connection, unlike email or text. And while distance meetings are a great solution for public health, remote meetings are only part of the solution for business teams.
The strength of any communication solution is in the context.
The real trick is allowing everyone to have all relevant information, integrated data, communications, schedules, and project data with real time updates at their fingertips from any device — whether that is a computer in the office, a smartphone at the airport, or an iPad on the beach!
Smart software is that complete secure hub, layering robust communications features on top of remote video conferencing to replace the time, expense and potential risks of travel.
PROCESS MATTERS. What did you do as the coronavirus crisis began to grow? Did you start to make a mental list of the other key people on your team you needed to talk to? Did you know how to find them quickly and securely? How many people had sensitive conversations about crisis management and board information over text or email that would have been better off through a more secure line of communication?
Boards, c-suites and top of house teams who have a process for communicating on a dedicated software platform will be more nimble, efficient and reactive in times of crisis like this one. Those who do not plan for this will be left to scramble anew each time.
For boards and c-suites who spend much of their time on the road and away from each other, building the habit of connecting in a personal way between meetings means building a new way of doing business — and being seamlessly prepared for the next crisis..
REMOTE WORK IS NOT THE FUTURE. IT’S ALREADY HERE. Almost 5 million Americans identify as digital nomads, and HBR identified the “work from anywhere” policy as an emerging trend in business — noting that 43% of American workers have spent at least some time working remotely. Common fears of lower productivity or focus seem unfounded — studies are showing that remote workers are actually more productive.
The move toward remote work is happening. It’s about agile work and taking advantage of the ability to work anywhere, anytime. Top of house teams need to be out in front with this, adapting to and leading the way. As offices begin to relax their walls, boards and c-suites that embrace smart software will be leading the way, not playing catch up.
Even when this crisis subsides, the reality of remote work as the future of work will continue to grow.
In Conclusion
Our founders have 100+ years of top of house experience between us. We’ve been there so we know what it takes to do great work.
Cloud Concinnity® is a comprehensive, turn-key workspace for top of house teams and mission critical processes. And because we know crisis doesn’t wait, we can have you up and running in a matter of days.
If your leadership needs to step up your planning to the potential problems of the coronavirus, call us now.
It’s not too late. We’re ready to help.