When Your Business Plans Get Upended by the Pandemic, What’s Left? Your Mission.

I returned to Toronto from Jamaica on March 5, having completed the last of 3 Strategic Planning assignments for beloved clients there. They were clear on their strategy, and I was clear on mine. I had already scheduled monthly trips to Jamaica starting early April, a trip to Antigua in May, and the possibility of visiting Trinidad and Barbados later in the year (in addition to Tokyo for the Olympics).

Then the virus hit. A global pandemic, indeed not even a localised epidemic, was not on the radar of any of these businesses, nor mine. But here it was. And all of a sudden everything we had spent the last 2 or 3 months planning, literally blew up. We all hunkered down in those first few days, denying the gravity and hoping that 2 weeks’ isolation or lockdown would really just be 2 weeks. But as the 14 days crept to a close, we all realised that we were in “it” for the long haul. And we had no idea what “it” was or would be. The phrase “shooting in the dark” never held such meaning.

As a strategic planner, what happens when the strategy is suddenly and immediately totally irrelevant, and the options are buried in a sludge of uncertainty? How could I help my clients, who within a matter of days had seen their carefully crafted Strategic Plans disintegrate?

I realised that to help them, I had to first help myself. And so, on Friday of the 1st week, I hunkered down and got real with my own Strategic Plan. My 2020 Action plan was shot, blown to smithereens. But then I realised that what remains constant is my personal mission of being “a catalyst in changing the way we live and work, so we do so with joy”. And the Free and Laughing Mission also remained firmly embedded in my heart:

We lovingly and joyfully coach amazingly successful leaders to be even better so that they achieve the results they deeply and authentically desire in all areas of their life, and enjoy their unique JOY (Journey Of You)

Now, every time I feel uncertain about what steps to take, I go back to my mission. Inevitably this is the beacon that lightens the darkness of the present and directs my way forward.

Based on my own experience, in a call a few days later, I asked one of my clients if her mission had changed. She replied an unequivocal “No”, and we set about looking at what she needed to be doing now to carry out that mission. We both left the call feeling hopeful about the future, sure about the immediate next step, even if neither of us was clear on what the next 7, or 10 or 30 days might look like.

As we play the waiting game, I believe that now is the time to focus on our mission. Ask yourself these questions:

1. Can you articulate your mission in 1 sentence without having to look at the Mission Statement on the wall or in your Annual Report?
2. In 2025, will this still be your mission? 2030? 2022?
3. Does this mission excite, inspire and motivate you?
4. Are your team members clear on, and aligned with this mission?
5. Do they even know what it is?

If you answered “NO” to any of these, set aside time to deeply examine the mission of your organization. What’s your purpose? Why do you exist? What value do you bring to the world? How do you make life better for your customers, team members, community, nation?

Focusing on your mission now:

1. Reminds you and your team that there is a future, some day.
2. Gives you and your team context for current decisions.
3. Helps you to decide what NOT to do.

Always come back to why your organisation exists. That becomes the beacon of hope that shines, no matter what.

This is the 2nd in the series of articles. You can read The first article JOYFul Leadership in the Time of Digital Transformation