Wherever you choose to search the internet for business advice today, opinions abound. But, because the health crisis has yet to fade, facts are tough to come by. Based on our own experience, we know it’s impossible to build or grow a business from a foundation constructed on mere belief. In our research, we’ve discovered a fact-based platform you can use to move your business forward successfully in these unprecedented times… using curiosity and agility as your keys to business survival.
If you’re unfamiliar with the cloud-based survey development company Survey Monkey, you might want to check them out. Not only do they offer you a platform from which to create surveys yourself, they also survey various businesses and share their findings. (You can receive these directly to your Inbox by subscribing to their email list.)
Now, we’re not here to plug their services but, rather, to share some real-world info on how businesses have been surviving the constraints of the past year or so. Based on their latest surveys of various organizations and the public, there are reasons for optimism about business and the economy in general.
Of course, this begs the question of where this optimism comes from and how you can be part of it!
Being Curious Can Give Your Business Nine Lives
According to the Survey Monkey report, searching for – and finding – new ways to do business has been critical for organizations trying to adapt to the radical changes we’ve all experienced and witnessed lately. And, while the choice of the word “curious” may be, uhm… curious to you, being inquisitive and proactive about finding solutions makes perfect sense.
This point is made emphatically in the report: “Without curiosity, even agile organizations are left rudderless.” And further,
“The organizations that foster a culture of curiosity find new and creative ways of adapting to problems by synthesizing all the information they have available to them. This includes data like sales and revenue, and feedback from interviews, surveys, and focus groups.”
OK, so here are some of those facts we mentioned above:
- Some 59% of successful organizations handle challenges by using creative ways to adapt to changing circumstances.
- Just 34% of organizations that gathered feedback from employees or customers reported a financial decline at their company.
- A whopping 65% of curious organizations remained stable or have had minor to major financial growth despite the pandemic.
The upshot of this is that business owners who are curious by nature have a far better chance of keeping themselves ahead of the curve post-pandemic.
Staying Nimble Will Always Benefit You, and Your Business
Agility in response to rapid change or crises has always been a recognized characteristic of successful entrepreneurs. Yet, it now seems that the current crisis is so unusual and unpredictable that the ability to pivot in new directions has been stifled in many of them. According to the report, accepting this state of affairs can be deadly for your business.
In other words, “Without agility, curious organizations struggle to adapt quickly enough.”
“Swift, bold action is a prerequisite for doing business in [these times], and the organizations that are able to fundamentally change how they do business have the best shot at adapting to a fundamentally different paradigm.”
Since we’ve already shown how being curious can be a big plus in crisis business management, it’s time to share how being agile has helped other businesses – and can also benefit you:
- People who work at less agile companies are 50% less likely to say they’re meeting their customer’s needs.
- Nearly 50% of agile companies find it easy or relatively easy to keep their customers (as opposed to about one-third of less agile companies).
- 200% of employees at agile companies say they are doing better during the pandemic.
While forcing yourself to be nimble can sometimes feel like dancing on the head of a pin, and we know how stressful that can be, the ability to pivot in new directions when needed will always be a big plus for you and your business.
Practice… Practice… Practice…
Like all human endeavors, learning new skills or enhancing those you already possess requires conscious effort and practice. And, opinions from online “experts” aside, it’s apparent that survival in a crisis will be easier for entrepreneurs who employ curiosity and agility as foundational elements in building and growing their business.
If you need help developing a foundation of curiosity and agility as part of your skillset, our Foundations Strategy Package may be just what you’re looking for.
If you still have questions about how we can be your strategic marketing partner for 2021, click here to schedule a complimentary consultation and get your questions answered.
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