Things right now are hard to predict. That is a fact. Trends lack patterns. Strategy is a 6-month viewfinder. Leaders are in a tactical storm. We feel overwhelmed by the unknown and the feeling of “what is next.” 

Skip all that. Focus on what you do know. Some things do remain the same. 

• You have to have revenue to stay in business
• Process improvement impacts margin
• Agility and the ability to pivot allows you to move quickly as new information and new opportunities continue to unfold
• Your people remain your biggest expense, so investing your time and ensuring their activity is focused on the right things every day is vital to their productivity
• Productivity predicts performance

Progress comes from a focus on 2 things:
 

Communication gives us clarity, and this turns on our productivity. Productivity helps with our HeadTrash and makes us feel stronger. The key to productivity is the association with measurable goals, no matter how short term they may be at this time. For salespeople, they might be to reach out to 50 people a week, uncover five new potential customers, and get three deals into their pipeline. For Food & Beverage, it might be a specific number of covers and usage growth by outlet(s). For leaders, it should be on team member turnover and customer happiness.

Many people are hoping for a silver bullet, and there isn’t one.

As a leader, you want to get people moving, focused, and celebrating the small wins along the journey. Mistakes will continue to happen and what matters most is to move towards progress. The key is to get your people focused, productive, and feeling appreciated. They know the world is in chaos, and you don’t have the keys to turn it off. What they want to know is that you care.