Covid-19: Our Message to Business Executives

With over 311,000 infections and 13,000 deaths worldwide, over 177 countries affected by the ravaging Covid-19 pandemic are implementing national lockdowns, quarantines, school closure, restrictions to travel, leisure, work, churchgoing, and other aspects of life, to control the spread of the disease.

As at yesterday evening, 22 March 2020, Nigeria had recorded 30 confirmed cases of the disease and lockdowns are now being implemented in phases by governments and private organisations. Buyers are engaging in panic buying while sellers/ business owners are also getting into the panic mode.

Our message to all business owners and business executives is simple – stay calm, strategise, learn lessons and implement.

Now is the time to re-evaluate how ready and scalable your business operations are, even in unforeseen commercial situations such as presented by the Covid-19 pandemic. Give considerations to the following:

1. What is the operational model of the business? Is it adaptable to business/economic lockdowns and social distancing?

2. What are the structures and models in place to continue to generate cashflow for the business?

3. Is there readily available infrastructure to adapt the operational model to changing business circumstances?

4. How are employee roles structured? Are these roles flexible? Can the employees still work at normal capacity even with changing work situations?

5. What are the internal capacities you need to, and can build with the ‘opportunity’ presented by a business lock down situation?

6. What are the plans for continuity, recovery and earnest take off of business once the pandemic-created economic situation subsides or clears up?

The Covid-19 situation does not call for panic,  but calm and calculation to enable careful planning, and strategies that will ensure business sustainability through it all.

For us at Vi-M, we are following all safety recommendations by the appropriate authorities; reducing/ reforming face to face meetings; and most importantly, restructuring/ strengthening our virtual businesses/ models to ensure we continue to provide the much required value to both clients and prospects out there.

We pray for God’s wisdom, help, protection and healing for all of us as we weather through this global storm.