Lessons from the pandemic: the human-centric nature of business recovery

As the pandemic hit, lockdown happened and the meetings, conference and event industry shut down. The only work that took place was discussions about events that were due to take place in the coming days, weeks and months and the contractual terms of cancellation, postponement and ‘Force Majeure’.  The business landscape looked bleak to say the least and the discussion centred on when, how and if there might be a live events industry to come back to.

The pain of seeing a business that had been build up over twenty years get wiped out overnight, hit hard. It was challenging knowing that members of the team who had put their heart and soul into the business were living each day with no security and an understanding that when we left the office for the official lockdown, some would never return.  

Yet the pain was tempered by the knowledge that this was not our fault. This was not because we made a mistake, or the business was failing through our decisions- it was something we couldn’t control. And in small businesses, where leaders are making decisions every day that could impact the growth of the business, knowing that (that the business was not at fault), meant there was inner calm and clarity that the challenges ahead could be faced.

Allocating blame and pointing fingers provides some measure of stress relief but provides no tangible benefits. Having said that, one of the key learnings that I struggled with every day was the realisation that the daily press briefings and the subsequent reports provided headlines and discussion points in the media, but nothing of any value or assistance came from these for small businesses.  

The truth for a small business owner was that forming a barrier against the posturing of the press insulated from false dawns and unfulfilled promises. The amount of time we spent dissecting the ‘assistance’ that the politicians claimed were in place for businesses compared to the ease of the small print that meant lack of eligibility was precious time that could be spent on the business itself. 

The unspoken truth is that, as a colleague put it, ‘we were grieving for a business we had lost’. But this was a time when real lives were being lost in vast numbers around the world, and the terrible impact on both physical and mental health was unimaginable for every person in their own way. So this grief wasn’t spoken about since, in comparison, it was insignificant but gave us a perspective of what we were challenged with.  

We remained positive, forcing ourselves to embrace the eternal optimism of the start-up entrepreneur when all they have is an idea. We knew (or believed) that the power of the spoken word and the impact that it can have on an individual, a team or a company was always going to come back and we had a chance to create a better business and learn from the experiences we had before.  

We tried new ideas, we embraced the virtual world, we stopped ideas that were not working and tried something else. We ran on adrenaline and brought the team closer together as we knew we were all fighting for survival. Our small business took this opportunity to create the foundations for better times and took pride and comfort in knowing we were going through it together.

One of the hardest times was when we started seeing positive signs. Re-training the brain to move from survival mode to the longer term was tough. Deciding about the hiring of staff or financial investment is tough, especially with the threat of the next wave or of delays in re-opening.   

This aversion to risk is the mindset of the mature business, with a fear of unforeseen consequences shaking up something that works. For those businesses in start-up mode, it is a time to take a deep breath, ignore the outside voices and enjoy the journey.  

The truth is, the people within the business are the only thing that really matters. With the right team, the right attitude can stand alongside it and battle through any circumstances that present themselves.    

Sharing the pain as you watch everything you have built crumble, rebuilding it together and enjoying those moments are the memories and experiences for any successful small business. I hope that the next challenge for us at Speakers Corner is that we grow, and we learn from our experiences about how to maintain that team. Ensuring we can all share the joy and satisfaction that success can bring without the distance that comes as businesses grow, processes are structured, and engagement is one step removed from the beating heart of any business.