From the Lionesses of Africa Operations Department

In the recent Lioness Enterprise Webinar, the brilliant Bruce Whitfield (voted by our team to have the second best radio voice on this planet - the first obviously being Matthew McConaughey…sorry Bruce!), reminded us of Mike Tyson’s famous quote (at the time he was the undisputed world heavyweight boxing champion): “We all have a plan, until we are punched in the face!” Although that is quite dramatic, we all agree that the business world has indeed had a huge punch to the face, but what we should also concentrate on from this quote is the: “We all have a plan…”.

In previous letters we have said that any plan is better than no plan, not least because it starts movement and thinking, and because all plans are adaptable. But how to adapt your plan and remain relevant when all around you is sickness, hurt, fear and fog.

Firstly, you need to take a good hard look at your business.

As always in these letters we try to simplify business issues (anything else gives our Head of Finance a headache), so:

Revenue / Costs / Risks

There - that is your business! How you increase your Revenue whilst controlling Costs and navigating Risks will define you, your business and (in these dark times) your survival. When times are tough and the fog of war has dropped, true leaders find that time slows, they start to see clearly and reduce problems to a simple format from which it is easier to see solutions. We are not sure if this is something that can be taught, possibly it is one of those skills you either have or don’t, but we believe that it is something that is like the muscle memory that sportsmen and superwomen talk about. Tough to begin with, but the more you do it, so the easier it becomes. However, do not worry, if you don’t have it and are stuck like a ‘Rabbit in the Headlamps’ of an approaching car, please don’t panic, just ask for help.

The inspirational community of Lionesses around you are fabulous at giving help. If you see on the lionessesofafrica.com website a brilliant solution, a cool collaboration or business that somehow seems to be thriving, or even if it is in the same industry as you, even if in a different country, don’t be shy, approach them and use the secret pass-phrase in the subject line of the email, “I am a Lioness reaching out” (ok, maybe not so secret!). We are certain that you will (if nothing else) get a virtual high five and a smile, most times though the conversation will open up and discussions start.

Why is this important? Firstly it will show you that you are not alone and that is so important during these dark times. Secondly, it is true that often a simple chat, a discussion of similar issues can lower the fog, simplify what you think are complex issues and will allow you to see more clearly. It really is so important at this time to simplify and from that you should be able to see more clearly and find a way to adapt in this dark time.

So, can you reduce your business down into Revenue / Costs / Risks?

Revenue is easy, how do you make money?

Costs are obvious - where is all my money going?

The difficult part is the ‘Risks’.

Actually, not so difficult. Think about the ‘Risks’ as being all the messy stuff in between the ‘Revenue’ and the ‘Costs’. That includes the Health and Safety Risk of your staff, the soap and hand sanitiser you now have in the office, the warehouse and factory, the height and quality of my warehouse storage shelves etc, but also Financial Risk - those words we hope are now emblazoned on a major spot on your desk by now - ‘Cash Flow!’; Leadership Risk - we talked about this previously, no micromanagement and less ‘control’, more trust and loads of empathy please; Regulatory Risk - what permissions do I need for my business, what licences and approvals and how do I keep them up to date and relevant?); Technology/Information Risk - Home Working? Is it safe are my company secrets, how safe is my data - my secret Coca-Cola Formula, my client list or my suppliers’ costings, Fire-Walls - do they work correctly; Particular Risks to your business - such as the recent terrible second Locust swarm in East Africa that according to this article is a swarm of just more than a third of a square mile can eat the same amount of food in one day as 35,000 people (as if there are not enough tragic problems at this time). Finally those that were so important they had a letter from us all to themselves… Supply Risk - just how strong is your supplier, if they were to go bust, would it instantly kill your business, do you have a backup, and Demand Risk - what do I do if all demand dries up ?

Bruce told us that in his discussions with leaders of many of the top SA companies, they did point out to him that one must try not to be stuck with stock, why? Because that is cash just sitting there gathering dust. Move that stock to move the cash. Indeed in discussions we had with an owner of a chain of ‘Bistro Pubs’ in the UK, he said that although he had furloughed his staff, they had all volunteered to return to work to make food for the local communities and hospices. This allowed him to move his stock, gave him movement in his company and gave his employees a reason to be cheerful as they were doing something that made a difference.

If you can find a way to keep your staff busy at this time, grab it. Such as the inspirational Nicola Luther of Lunar Fashion who recognised early that medical gowns and scrubs would be in high demand, and for the good of the community turned herself and her incredibly talented seamstresses over to producing medical scrubs. Given the emergency, the importance of medically regulated and approved materials demanded that her strong passion for natural fabrics and protecting the environment had to take a back seat at this time. But there is a Lioness thinking outside of the box, recognizing the risks and whilst usually and fiercely protecting the environment, now fiercely protecting front line Health Workers!

Having been hit hard by the Coronavirus, she has picked herself up, dusted herself off, adapted her plan, remained relevant and headed back out.

We shall leave on that inspirational news with a photo, a small but important ray of sunshine. Last week we mentioned the tonnes of flowers from Kenya being tragically being destroyed, unable to find their usual market in the UK. This week, deliveries of flowers have (in a small way) started up, but in doing so have concentrated on making a difference. They too have dusted themselves off, adapted their plan and decided that they need to remain relevant in their main market: