Planning for an Uncertain Future

Planning for an Uncertain Future

Robert S. Michaud, P.E.

5/14/20

There is little doubt that the business landscape after we emerge from this pandemic is going to look significantly different than the past. Each day we are learning that businesses that have been around for years are not planning to reopen – ever. This is sad, tragic, and difficult to come to grips with, but there it is. It is happening before our very eyes. If you are a business owner or manager, your thoughts are very likely consumed with thoughts on how you and your company will get through this, what will it do to survive, and what will it look like in the future.

Change breeds opportunity. It is a phrase we are all familiar with and when you read it in a business book or heard it in a sales or marketing class, it probably seemed like so much jargon. Today, though, change is dramatic and real, and so too are the opportunities. They may not be the changes you wanted, but that doesn’t mean that there won’t be opportunities as well. There most certainly will be – but will you be prepared to take advantage of them? What are you doing now to prepare yourself and your business for these changes? Are you looking at how your business might adapt and offer new products or services going forward? You should be. We ALL should be!

Look around you – there are resources available to help you make sense of where you are and where you might be able to go. I have had conversations with a number of business leaders recently discussing this very topic. One of the first steps in this process, and really the most important step we must take RIGHT NOW, is to take stock of what we have – lay all the cards on the table, so to speak, so that we can make decisions with when the time is right with the best information possible.

No one resource can provide you with all of the information you need. Reach out to your lawyer, accountant, sales manager, human resources manager and others to talk about staffing needs and possible changes, business directions, new market opportunities, and more. Also, take a hard look at your facilities and consider a detailed inspection or assessment of them and the equipment to determine if there are changes that need to be made there as well. Is it time to address some ongoing maintenance concerns? Are there capital improvements that should be scheduled? Should you move out of some buildings because they are no longer cost effective or don’t meet your future business needs? We can’t help you with the questions regarding legal, accounting, sales or staffing issues, but when it comes to your buildings, your equipment and planning for the future, we can certainly lend a hand.

Failing to plan is planning to fail – another quip that we are all familiar with, but today is the time to plan. Let us give you a hand.

© Michaud Engineering Inc. 2020