Coronavirus Crisis – Is 2020 The Year To Forget About ALL Business Goals?

Posted on by Anubhav Srivastava

There has recently been a quote being circulated around which says something like “2020 is the year to survive, don’t even talk about profits and losses. Don’t talk about your dreams and plans.  Just make sure you stay alive! “ It has been attributed to business magnates such as Ratan Tata and Jack Ma. Mr. Tata has already said it’s fake while it is still unconfirmed whether Jack Ma really said it. Regardless, people continue to believe in this.

Here is why I feel believing in quotes like these does nothing useful and just makes you overly fearful and motivates you to be mediocre even if a Business Magnate REALLY said this!

First of all, how do you know that the crisis will end in 2020? It may end in 2020 or it may go on a lot longer. We have no idea for now.

Secondly, there are many companies making a lot of profit right now AS YOU READ THIS! Companies are closing billion dollar deals right now!

Thirdly, EVERY year is the last year for millions of people on this planet. Something unfortunate can happen to anyone even tomorrow.. But it does not mean you stop living or trying. You take precautions but you don’t stop moving forward.

What are the precautions you can take during the COVID crisis for your health? It is to simply follow what the doctors say and abide by the prescribed norms. That can be social distancing or using masks or sanitizing or quarantining yourself and abiding by the regulations of the government

But never have the doctors or the government said that you should abandon all dreams and goals in order to avoid getting COVID 19. Never have they said that you should get complacent. Never have they said said that watching Netflix all day or spending time on social media 24/7 is going to help you survive.

Continuing to work from home or in a limited capacity maybe easier for people who happen to be in industries where their product/service can be delivered online but it does not mean people from other industries should not do anything.

You have to understand that most businesses believe that nothing they will do will work right now or they can’t run operations so this means there is no point trying anything at all as it will all be a waste. This reminds me of Henry Ford’s quote – Whether you think you can do something or you think you cannot, you are right either ways!
If you think there is nothing you can do, there is nothing you will do and consequently there is nothing you will get. But those who believe that there are a few things in their control will do what they can influence, and consequently get the results of those efforts, even if it takes a while for the results to appear.
Here are some things proactive businesses and people should do. They should invest in learning, they should continue to market using means where ROI  can be measured, they should network, they should touch base with all their stakeholders, they should think of ways to generate sales online through ads or email lists, they should focus on how they can improve cash flow, they should come up with new products/services in accordance with changing times, they should streamline their organization and do whatever it takes to maximize their performance within whatever they can control.
Yes, it is possible to sell even physical products right now! Offer customers a significant discount in exchange for getting cash upfront and completing delivery when you can resume operations. Whether or not you succeed may not entirely be in your hands, but trying is.

This crisis is not the time to get complacent or paralyzed by fear. This is the time to do what is in your control. Remember the hare and the tortoise race story where the hare who was fast lost the race to the tortoise because he decided to take a nap? A lot of hares right now are not doing anything at all or have given up psychologically or are struggling because of burning through their cash or having flawed business models. Now is the time for you to surpass them by doing what they won’t do! Don’t waste this golden opportunity! This may truly be a once in a lifetime chance!