Right Here, Right Now

In this 3-part series we want to offer you some view of What’s Next. As we tentatively emerge from the restrictions imposed by the Global Pandemic, we suggest to leaders that it is What’s Next that matters.

In last week’s blog we explored how we might try and make sense of the future aligned to the purpose of our organisation. This week we explore where we are right here right now.

At the end of each blog you will find a link to a Facilitation Pack that can help you work through the topic in your own context.

UK based Greggs reported a strong April recovery as non-essential retail opened up, prompting the chain to suggest that its profits could be much higher than they had previously forecasted. Striking a more optimistic note in just one month of post lock down trade with an added cautionary note of warning that trading conditions were “clearly highly unusual.”

The story of Gregg’s sums up an issue that leaders are facing. How do we make sense of where we are now, when the traditional ways of doing so have been so massively disrupted by the Pandemic? Trend data does not make sense, some disruption is temporary, some is here to stay – but can you confidently predict your next chapter for your organisation? Yet understanding where we are is an important step in taking advantage of the opportunity you see. This week we want to explore how to understand where we are “Right here, right now.” 

Don’t underestimate this step. In a world in which executives are time poor, spending time reflecting on where we are and how we got here may seem like an indulgence, but we have seen from our work with leaders that time out for reflection brings personal growth to individuals and the organisations they serve. 

If you build time to reflect on the ways you have performed in the past 12 months, you may feel a mix of exhaustion, pride and wonder. Against all the odds, we are here - have you brushed aside what Alan Leighton calls the treacle of an organisation that gets in the way of fast paced execution. Will you hold on to that? What has been frustrating you – what are the things that are just not as good as they were?  What might you want to fast forward, start, pause or stop and how might you know?  

The question is not so much where you have been in the past twelve months, albeit that is important, the question is what have you learnt? What has surprised you? How ready are you now for the opportunity you see from your balcony view and what does this mean to the dancers on the dance floor? 

There are so many lenses available to leaders to answer this question. We suggest you take the future you saw in the work we did last week and ask what capability do we need to move towards that future?  How do we measure up to this desired state?

1.  How can we grow from within?

A constant focus on capability is vital to the pace of change in our working environment and even more so in a time when we are trying to make sense of where we are at. More and more leaders are recognising that there is a need to invest. The trick is to align the learning investment of time and money to the strategy.

The Mckinsey Global Survey of April 2021 shows that skill building is more prevalent than it was before the pandemic with 69% of their respondents doing more. Developing Leadership, Critical Thinking, Decision Making and Project Management Skills are top of the list of focus, with 58% of respondents saying it has become a higher priority.

What capability do you need to fulfil your strategic ambition? What part do the people you already have play in that and how can you continue to learn and grow together? A good workforce plan will not only address the size and shape of your organisation; it will also outline the capability levels needed and a route to obtain that capability through an investment in the people you have. 

2.  Widen your lens and look up and down and the value chain

BAe Systems have taken a strategic perspective to this capability question. They have a forecast of the capability they need to fulfil their strategic plan, and this has led them to understand the growth in skills they need, informing their talent programmes such as their apprentice scheme.

A manufacturer like BAe is not just reliant on its internal capability; it also relies on a supply chain made up of a wide range of SME’s. They recognise that in order to fulfil their strategic plan ambitions they need capability growth in the whole supply chain. This has led them to collaborate with their suppliers to build apprentice schemes that works for the whole of the enterprise. It is a strategically brilliant, capability building move by them.

When you assess capability, are you looking internally or are you building value throughout the supply chain? How might you collaborate to win through?

3.  Digital Capability and Data

The Pandemic amplified something we have known for a while. To thrive you must have good reliable data and you must have digital capability. This has been a big differentiator for those that have done well in the past 12 months and those who have struggled. It wasn’t enough to be digital – although that was clearly essential – it was how you used the data to make decisions that counted.

Why did some fashion retailers do better than others when they both had the same digital platform? Using data to spot trends early is part of the answer. Acting on it at pace is another big ingredient.

The online fashion company Boohoo did just that last year as the Pandemic changed consumer habits. They have reported bumper sales as they pivoted to casual and leisure wear. As with all things in business, nothing is one dimensional. Revenue may have reached a record high for Boohoo but the City remains wary as they company has to address red flags of the working conditions of those in the supply chain, environmental issues and governance issues. How we do business continues to grow in importance to consumers, investors and employees.

4.  How work Gets done to optimise productivity?

So much is being written about the hybrid working debate that we will leave that to others. You can’t ignore it in this current state assessment though. You need to have a view and our best advice is that in designing the solution focus on how the work gets done to optimise productivity. Whatever route you choose, you are unlikely to please all of the people – it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try, after all their motivation is key to your success – but in designing the solution to how work will get done most productively in the future start with the work in mind.

5.  Speed 

Has the Pandemic interrupted your concept of time? Some great things happened at record pace. The development of the vaccine. The Nightingale hospital in the UK. The switch to home working and adoption of Zoom/Teams. What can we learn from this that we can hold onto?

What of the human factor? Running on adrenaline can push us to greatness but humans were not built to run at that pace forever. It will shred our mental and physical wellbeing. So, what did we learn that we can hold onto?

Perhaps the nature of decision making has changed for the better or you recognise that some of your control mechanisms are out of date. Perhaps your balcony perspective has allowed you to see that your workforce is more flexible and adaptable than you ever imagined it could be. You will no doubt already have had time to reflection on what brought about the speed of your response to exceptional times the question for now is which parts of that are you going to deliberately sustain.

6.  Supply Chains

How robust are your supply chains? The past year has thrown this question into sharp focus and continues to do so. The beginning of the pandemic threw up questions of the supply of PPE, hand sanitiser, medical equipment and some food supplies.

This month the impact of the so called “Chipageddon” continues to cause disruption to business. The Pandemic created a surge in demand for semiconductors as working from home, home schooling and entertainment all drove a 6.5% in Global demand for chips. At the same time, a series of unrelated events slowed down supply including; Lock down in China halting production in key factories; Cold weather in Texas forcing a factory there to close; A fire at a key factory in Japan and the Trump Administrations trade war with China leading to some stockpiling.

The impact of these event is being felt now. In May car manufactures Jaguar Land Rover, Ford and VW are all being forced to interrupt production as their Just In Time supply for once works against them. Xbox and Playstation 5 consoles are in short supply and please don’t let your toaster breakdown until supply normalises as manufacturing has been interrupted.

Chipageddon demonstrates how important it is to have the balcony perspective of your context. How vulnerable is your organisation to events that are beyond your immediate control and what can be done to mitigate the risk?

Being a winner is a complex issue and Leaders must not only inspire their followers with a vision they must also be realistic about what capability they need to fulfil that vision and prioritise resource to close any capability gaps. In doing so the wider stakeholder group will look to leaders to execute their plans with social, environmental and ethical greatness.


Complete the form below to download the Facilitation Pack that can help you work through the topic in your own context.

Next week, in the final part of the series we will explore how to move from where you are now to the future you see.

Murray Cook is experienced at delivering change in complex situations and developing creative solutions to strategic challenges.

Anne McCarthy is an experienced leader of change and transformation, supporting business with their people strategy and developing leaders.