Making Use of the Crisis as an Opportunity

What Entrepreneurs can learn from the Corona-crisis

Major shocks repeatedly cause fundamental changes in the behaviour and desires of all humans. The Corona-crisis has already led to serious changes in society in the short term, for example in the importance of virtual working methods.

Companies must therefore prepare themselves for the possibility that reality has been and will continue to be permanently affected by this crisis.That is why it is worth assessing short-term changes early on in the business context in order to derive not only possible risks but also long-term opportunities from these changes.

Businesses should learn the lessons of the past and coming months and make the most of previously unutilized potential. For example, the opportunity related to virtual communication and fewer business trips can be recognized, and the company can adapt to those new possibilities accordingly. This will save time and money, which is why companies should find a new balance on an individual basis.

Digitalisation within the company can now be promoted further, for example by expanding the corporate online presence. Weaknesses discovered in the home-office, such as insufficient VPN access, should also be eliminated.

The current mounths can be used of to further educate and train the employees, if this is feasible from a budgetary point of view. Furthermore, some issues that were previously postponed due to time constraints can now possibly be tackled. Examples of this include clarifying the company succession, drawing up emergency plans or improving a company’s online presence.

Weak points revealed by the crisis should be identified and appropriate solutions must be developed within the company. In doing so, it is important to avoid thoughtless decisions and instead proceed in a targeted and efficient manner. When making decisions, the short-term benefits should always be weighed against potential long-term damage. For example, the release of employees to reduce costs may seem sensible in the short term, but is often problematic in the long term when the economy recovers. That is because high staff fluctuation can destroy the company culture and weaken cooperation.

In addition, better precautions should be taken to limit future damage if a company has realised as a result of the Corona-crisis that they are not prepared for global crises.

And most importantly: stay optimistic!

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