The Rudyard Kipling poem comes to mind these days, starting with, “If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs…………..” The poem is about becoming a Man, but his words bear a striking resemblance to becoming a good business as well.
It is times like these that you do need to keep your head, stay focused and perform the actions that will get you through and well into the future. Like:
Things like remembering your core values. At PlastiCert we have them hanging in the break area and conference room. We call attention to them to remind us that as we adapt to new ways of doing things our core values remind us of how we want to do it. Build them into the decisions we are making during this pandemic so that we do not lose sight of who we are. We are operating out of our comfort zone, but our core values woven into our actions will help us feel more comfortable with them.
Also, keeping our sights on both reacting to the threat of today, but keeping an eye on the horizon and where we want to be going. If you are just looking at the water right in front of the boat, you will not be charting a straight line. Short and mid trip destinations may alter your course slightly, but keeping an eye on your destination prevents steaming in circles and not getting anywhere.
Remembering that as a leader you are in control, but don’t have to be alone. Reaching out and using networks to hash out ideas, get input on how others are answering the call. Now is not the time to be master of all you see, and leaning on others is not weakness but wisdom.
Lastly, we are in this together and while in our business model we stress that we are “partners”, now we really mean it. With furloughs, family leaves and illness, we all have unexpected gaps on our production floors. If you, ( and you means customers AND suppliers) need any assistance beyond our injection molding, like assembly, sonic welding, decoration and labeling, packaging, warehousing, do not hesitate to ask. We are at full staff and ready to help you get through this as we go forward ourselves.
We hope you and those around you are doing well. Reach out and contact us, even if just to say hello. In times like these it is the little things like simple conversation that keep us grounded.