For many leaders, 2021 feels more uncharted than your average new year. 2020 taught everyone that the rug can be pulled, the rules can be changed, and at any time. And without notice. The dust hasn’t settled. The balls in the air haven’t landed. We don’t know how things will shake out in terms of the economic landscape.

How Are You Handling This?

Some leaders and their organizations – like most of my clients – found ways to thrive in spite of the uncertainty. They are forging ahead.  Some took a beating. I drove through downtown the other day. It’s discouraging to see the number of boarded-up and closed businesses.

Many more, perhaps most, were just rocked back on their heels. It’s almost like a corporate sense of despondency and listlessness had taken over. They are making it – but it’s not feeling good. They don’t communicate hope.

What Worked in 2020 That You Need to Do in 2021

Around this time last year, I introduced two simple principles to guide leaders. Both were evidence-based ideas of what works during times of economic uncertainty and hardship. Because my clients, by and large, practiced these concepts, they not only survived 2020 but most experienced a record-breaking year. This wasn’t an accident.

Due to the uncertainty around 2020, I believe these same principles are highly relevant for this year as well. If you are already practicing them – this article should be a confirmation to you to hold the course. If you aren’t practicing them – there is no time like the present to get started.

Principle 1: Just Enough Defense

In 2020 – businesses that had smart defensive strategies last year did well. But businesses that had no defense were severely strained or wiped out. Those who played defense too hard made the year more challenging than was necessary.

No defense looks like not having:

• A cash reserve
• Good relationships with bankers or lenders
• The administrative ability or bandwidth to pursue resources such as the PPP or other loans
• Good relationships on your team
• Good relationships with key vendors

Too much defense often looks like this:

• Staying in “hunker down” mode
• Reducing the value you provide to your customers
• Steep reductions in staff
• Not cultivating a sense of team while working remotely or with added pressures
• Not playing offense at all

Just Enough Defense looks different. It is finding that balance of keeping your team and customers safe while finding ways to provide value and pursue your goals. Organizations that did well last year focused on:

• Find or create operational efficiencies: Find ways to make sure your efforts produce results. Do what works well, stop doing what doesn’t.
• Create alignment: Create alignment between the stated values and vision of your organization and the decisions and goals you pursue. Make sure that your teams or divisions are similarly aligned so that ideally they support each other – minimally they aren’t working at cross-purposes.
• Deal with conflict well: Unresolved and poorly resolved conflict is one of the largest invisible expenses in most organizations. Learning to create clarity and having respectful but hard conversations increases productivity and morale.

Principle 2: Smart Offense

The best defense is a good offense. This is true in sports, in business, and for 2021. In the face of threat and uncertainty, businesses that had a good offense did well in 2020. They should keep this up in 2021. A good offense looks like this:

Targeted Focus

• Keep the big picture: Still pursue the big goals and dreams. Airlines don’t give up on their destination just because a storm happens. They adjust their course. Eventually, they get where they were going.
• Find the advantage: Change can be uncomfortable. But it also can create opportunity. Find the unique opportunities or advantages afforded by the circumstances you are in. Examples:
  • Many organizations were able to use the challenges of 2020 as a catalyst to address internal issues.
  • Because so many organizations went into “hunker mode” for all of last year – many customers were left not knowing where to find service. Smart companies found safe ways to deliver value and expand their market share.
  • Many companies found this was a great time to renegotiate terms in leases or agreements.
  • Others found that capital investments became easy – with so much liquidation on the market and low-interest rates.

Careful Experimentation

Smart businesses kept experimenting. This often looked like new ways to deliver value. Sometimes it looked like trying to expand to new markets. Or providing entirely new services or products. The best experiments seem to be small and targeted. Get strong proof of concept and then invest.

The main thing is innovation and forward-thinking. The few non-fast food restaurants who did well last year (and there were some) all offered amazing examples of careful experimentation – and then a leap when something seemed to work.

Marketing

Last year was a year of great generalizations. Many people (falsely) believed that the entire economy was struggling and no one was buying. This was absolutely not true. Some parts of the economy took off last year in ways that no one would have expected. Everyone used Zoom, online clothing and grocery shopping became a norm, telemedicine became widely accepted, the real estate market blew up, shipping companies couldn’t keep up, remodeling and handyman services were booked out…

Businesses that did well also kept themselves in front of customers and clients.

For a Strong 2021

For a strong 2021, play just enough defense to stay safe and have an aggressive, but very smart, offense. COVID isn’t going anywhere. We’re going to have to adapt to it. Other exciting problems are somewhere around the bend.

But so are opportunities. Be ready for them – because most others won’t be.

Take good care,

Christian

FURTHER READING

You Are Writing Your Story of 2020: What Do You Want It To Be About?

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Vision Building Sprints

If you or your team are wrestling with defining your vision and would like help, I’m offering the opportunity for a “Vision Sprint”. This is a dynamic calibrating exercise. We will tightly dial in on your vision for the year and the key steps you need to take to get there. I’m offering either individual sessions ($2500) or team sessions ($4000).

Contact me at christian@christianmuntean.com if interested in learning more or setting up a time.

The Successful New CEO – FREE BOOK OFFER
As an executive coach, I’ve found that the experiences for new executives (or experienced executives in new roles) tend to touch on familiar themes. No one’s situation is the same. But there are common principles that, when followed, do guide executives to success. I introduce those core principles in my new book, The Successful New CEO. I’d like to give you a free copy (just pay shipping)!

The book is divided into four parts:

• Becoming an Executive: Leaders can only lead out of who they are. How do you become the kind of person who successfully and gracefully inhabits this role?
• Seven Essential Executive Skills: The skills that earned you this new role may not be the ones that you need in the role. What are the key leadership skills that become even more important at the executive level?
• Leading Your Leadership Team: More than likely, you’ll be leading other leaders. How do you lead a confident, effective leader? How do you build a team out of leaders?
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The goal of The Successful New CEO is to help you quickly gain the confidence of your team, successfully address the issues you will discover, score early wins, and set a course for a fruitful future.

If you’d like to see how this book will benefit you or someone you know, I’d like to make it available to you for free! Click Here.

Find the value of your company with my free assessment tool: The Value Builder System

The Value Builder System™ is a 13-minute online questionnaire that evaluates your business on the eight factors that contribute more to its attractiveness and value. These factors are scored on a scale of 1-100. Businesses that score over 80 are likely to command 70%-100% higher value than others.

THE LEADERSHIP COACH Podcast

In my podcast, THE LEADERSHIP COACH, we explore effective, high impact and enjoyable leadership. We talk about personal development and the attributes that all effective leaders possess. I interview other leadership experts who share their knowledge and tips to help you build the confidence to lead and learn the habits of good decision-making.

Opportunities

Free Resource: How To Accomplish More Without Doing More is a workbook I created to walk leaders through a process of helping you own your calendar, liberate your time, and still get more done. Download it for free!

Executive and Leadership Coaching: Do you feel overwhelmed? Are you not getting the results you expect from the effort you are putting in? Do you find yourself facing similar challenges time and time again? Would you like to change specific ways of relating or reacting? If you would like to experience predictable, measurable growth Contact me.

Profitable Exit Strategy Workshop: Are you a business owner or partner? Are you over 55? Are you starting to think about exiting your business or active management in the next 3-5 years?

• Are you curious about what your business might be worth?
• Would you like to discover the specific steps you need to take to increase its value and become highly attractive to a buyer?
• Are you planning on handing it over to family or employees and you want to ensure long-term success?

If so, contact me now