#MidweekMessage — Canopy briefing for Founders and CEOs in the time of #covid19
Today, we’ve started to trial a new idea, that of giving a weekly briefing to the Founders and CEOs involved in Canopy programs.
The first video went out today, and now each week on Wednesday mornings we will put together another edition. After four weeks we will continue if there is interest to do so.
Following feedback from #tribe members, who are the guiding authority at Canopy, we will also produce a medium article for each briefing vid. That way there is a quick reference piece to support the Founders/CEOs during their week. Top tip! Obrigadissimo equipa!
“We are living in unprecedented times” is a core phrase that is repeated across the different news updates and briefings and indeed it is true. So how do we navigate it as business leaders and indeed as humans. Todays briefing is 5 tips on this. I tried to keep it to 3 but let’s face it there is scope creep everywhere right now and I just couldn’t work out how to get it down to that. So here goes….
- Schedule -> Make an opportunity for yourself to build a schedule that balances and prioritises the different elements in your world now you are working from home / remotely all the time. It is easy to drift or get lost while in this environment and stage of the pandemic. By structuring your day and managing your time & energy efficiently you will be more successful as a founder and feel more successful. It will also give those around you a rhythm to match and build their own success. Consider how to protect time with your family and people you share a home with as well as making those video calls that connect you to the outside world. Get your exercise session(s) in there. Build your day to do the most actionable things in the morning and more creative things in the afternoons. We are all starting to creak under the isolation of social distancing. The mental and emotional challenges ahead can be helped, in part, by keeping to a good schedule.
- Cash flow ->The #1 business issue to manage at the moment is cash. This should be at least a weekly task for you as the CEO/Founder to look at. Ideally daily reviews and actions across the crisis period. We recommend you put together a rolling 13 week cash flow forecast and use it to contextualise your decisions and actions. Sit down and review the assumptions each day, update with the reality and look at the new projection. Make clear plans to manage these balances and to act on the information you have. If it takes all day to sort this out then that is the right thing to do. If you can get it done by 10am and leave yourself the rest of the day for other stuff then great! Make it a clear priority #1, no matter the size of the organisation.
- Governance -> Lots going on. Lots of decisions. Lots of changing factors. Good governance at this point includes making a record of the decisions you are making and the factors considered / the best information you had available to you at the time. Topics such as furlough, redundancy, layoffs, major purchases, new borrowing, paying suppliers and PR all warrant this kind of record keeping. Now that most of our board meetings are by Zoom or equivalent it's a great practice to simply record the meeting and keep the file alongside any minutes or confirming emails. Regardless of company size or sector this is a win if you take it on. Even if you are a one person company make the moment to ‘diarise’ what you are doing.
- Core Team ->People look to CEOs and Founders at times of challenge like these. They look to them as leaders and they look to them to lead. Core to this is communication. Being proactive in both giving information about the company response and needs as well as listening hard to the core team and what is happening for them will pay dividends in terms of engagement and ongoing loyalty / commitment. Likewise making every effort to help them feel safe in troubled times. Every employee you hired is important. You selected them for a reason. Paid them, trained them and nurtured them for a reason. They are all worthy of your commitment at this difficult time and as a leader you need to own this one. If you are going to let them go, provide an environment of respect and dignity as you do so.
- Find your place in this crisis ->We will all look back at this time and recollect different things. As a leader now is the time to be deliberate in your actions around where you fit into this crisis. What will you be doing personally to support others? What will you encourage your team to do? How will you pivot or repurpose the company to match the needs of this crisis? How will you keep those around you safe and secure? Examples: In Portugal right now I would look to support ReFood with their mission to serve beneficiaries which are vulnerable and normally reliant on the NGO for food each day. You can also chip in some time and energy to the Tech4Covid19 movement. In UK I would look at how you could volunteer to support the NHS through the goodsam program. In USA I would look at how you can donate food to food banks and support those people who are about to see epic system failures. Knowing and projecting a clear sense of purpose in these troubled times is essential for your own going credibility and for you as a human it helps you as well.
At Canopy we wish you every success in your business and good health along the way. We welcome your comments and inspirations for future #MidweekMessage editions and if you’d like to book a 1 to 1 session to follow up on any of the topics in this edition please book HERE
#tribe #neverstoplearning #followyourdreams
