PATH TO THE NEW NORMAL

04 Oct PATH TO THE NEW NORMAL

We as Entrepreneurs, would have experienced the VUCA [Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity] for our Businesses at some point in time. But not all the 4 of the VUCA at the same time. In the current scenario we are just not fighting a Pandemic but we are fighting a major Infodemic too. It is unprecedented and by far the most disruptive change in our lifetime, that the current situation has brought the entire humankind of 3 billion people worldwide under lock down at the same time.

For most Entrepreneurs, near-term survival is the only agenda item. Others are peering through the fog of uncertainty, thinking about how to position themselves once the crisis has passed and things return to normal. The big question is, ‘What will normal look like?’ While no one can say how long the crisis will last; what we find on the other side will not look like the normal of recent years for sure.

Here is an attempt to answer the big question being posed by Entrepreneurs across sectors: What will it take to navigate this crisis, as the severity of the crisis intensifies, as we wait for the crisis to pass over, up ahead behind the clouds of uncertainty, 4 options that emerge for Entrepreneurs are: 

1.  STAY – Stay Home / Stay Safe and do nothing & assume that things will take care of itself. Chances are that you might not Stay Relevant & Struggle to Stay in Business for long.

2.  SURVIVE – Think how to Survive, quickly acknowledge the change, prepare to respond to change, think of new ideas to keep pace with the change and work towards adapting to the new reality to Survive.

3.  SUSTAIN – Sustain the actions that helped in Survival and Innovate to adapt better and to make it consistent. The efforts should help in building the confidence and courage to create a stronger foundation for Sustainable Growth.

4.  SURGE – To Surge ahead of competition and to build a significant lead over them. It is important for Entrepreneurs to completely reinvent themselves and adapt to the new reality faster. Take advantage of the opportunities, create and innovate new products, services and experiences for customers, demonstrate empathy and agility in every aspect to Surge ahead.

Entrepreneurs would exercise the above options based on their Mindset. Mindset is the new Psychology of Success. As defined by Dr.Carol Dweck of Stanford University, based on her decades of research, we have 2 types of Mindsets – Fixed Mindset & Growth Mindset.

• A Mindset is a series of self-perceptions or beliefs people hold about themselves. These determine behavior, outlook and mental attitude. 
• Mindset is a mental attitude that determines how you will interpret and respond to situations.
• Mindsets are like the operating system for our behavior.

The basic differences that you find between Fixed Vs Growth Mindset are:

It is important for Entrepreneurs to Assess their Mindset. The Assessment creates an Awareness, which triggers Thoughts, that leads to Feelings, which forces Action, giving us the Results. Positive thoughts generate Positive feelings, forcing Positive Action, giving Positive Results. 

The Results of Mindset Assessment of Entrepreneurs would slot them in one of the following. The Entrepreneur has a:

1. Strong Fixed Mindset
2. Growth Mindset with many Fixed ideas
3. Growth Mindset with some Fixed ideas
4. Strong Growth Mindset

The 4 options that are in front of us in the New Normal can be mapped to the Mindset Assessment scores as follows:

The Key Question for an Entrepreneur is what Mindset do you have?

Mindsets can be developed if we consciously work on it. It is just not the Mindsets alone that impact our thoughts and decision making but there are a host of other contributors too like:

• Personality
• Strengths & Abilities
• EQ – Emotional Intelligence
• Confidence Factor / Self Image / Self Esteem
• Motivators
• Traits and Competencies

As an Entrepreneur do you have the Entrepreneur’s Mindset…Do a Self-Assessment…

The starting point is to get a Mindset Assessment done and the assessment of all of the above contributors to get an awareness of where you are and where you want to go, how do you want to leverage the best version of yourself and create an action plan. As an Entrepreneur you need an Outside-In Intervention from a Credentialed Coach or Business Mentor to build a Strong Growth Mindset & Strengths to Surge ahead in the New

Normal.