Jeweller - December 2020

BUSINESS
Strategy
Survival lessons of the pandemic
for business owners
As Australia slowly emerges from the grip of COVID-19, SUE BARRETT reflects on the unavoidable and unexpected
challenges of this year – and what business owners can learn about resilience, leadership, and change.
Four months into the COVID-19
pandemic, I wrote down the lessons
that I was learning about myself as
a leader, and my business. At the
time, I described the crisis as a test of
character for me and other people.
It had put everything I cared for, valued,
and taken for granted on notice.
Not that I wasn’t aware of or didn’t pay
attention to these things before – I am a
very attentive and purposeful person –
however, the pandemic put everything on
the table for a thorough examination.
As the COVID-19 shutdown hit, the very
first thing I did was gather my team
together and I said: “Our number one
goal is to stay together and stay in
business. We’ve worked too hard to let all
of our good work go to waste.
“We will manage our costs and reduce
where we can and then we will prepare
for the future.”
Then, I addressed the reality of the
economic situation for our clients.
happening to their businesses, their
customers and supply chains, we are
going to get ready a range of sales
resources and support for them so
they can get selling again and can keep
their businesses going and people in
jobs,” I said.
“This is what we are great at and this is
what we are going to help them address,
when they are ready.”
“We are going to keep selling, marketing
and engaging with our clients and others
to help them navigate their way through
this storm. By having their backs, we will
have our own.”
The interesting thing is that the things
I spoke about had been the focus of the
business all along.
Knowing our purpose made it easier
to channel our efforts towards what
was important. It also united us on our
journey through 2020’s many challenges.
And as it was for so many people, lessons
kept revealing themselves to me.
There is nothing
like a major
crisis to get us
to rethink what
is essential,
what is
desirable, what
is just nice to
have, and what
is past its useby
date
second, stricter lockdown in Melbourne
– where our business is based – some
governments around the world seemingly
ignoring the virus, elections that kept the
world on tenterhooks, and at a personal
level, deciding to leave our physical office
of 22 years to start anew.
There is nothing like a major crisis to get
us to rethink what is essential, what is
desirable, what is just nice to have, and
what is past its use-by date.
Reflecting on the first wave
As the saying goes, we are all in the
same storm, but we are not all in the
same boat.
What that means is if we pay attention,
we can learn a lot by listening to each
other: our clients, our families, and
others with whom we engage.
From doing so, it’s clear that some –
personally and professionally – have
sailed through this year virtually
unscathed while others are struggling
to make ends meet and stay in business.
“While everyone is going to need some
time to get their heads around what is
The second part of the year presented
more and different obstacles, like the
It has been interesting to see those who
carry themselves with dignity and grace
58 | December 2020