How To Overcome A Dragon In Today's Business Climate?

How To Overcome A Dragon In Today's Business Climate?

How To Overcome A Dragon In Today’s Business Climate?

How To Overcome A Dragon In Today’s Business Climate? 366 222 Shlomi Ron

Every good story needs a conflict to move it forward, right?

The “dragon” of our times is no doubt COVID-19 that has wreaked havoc worldwide with 1.14 million lost lives and disrupted economies, resulting in a global unemployment rate that has surpassed 190 million (International Labour Organization).

It made me think hard about how businesses react in times of crisis.

As you know, inspiration can come from unexpected sources.

The other night, I was watching an interview with rom-com actor, Matthew McConaughey on the Daily Show. He talked about his new book Greenlights, where he shared the rough parts of his personal journey.

I liked one of his observations regarding how he overcame red lights (challenges) in his personal life that eventually led him to greenlights (successes).



So, here is a question for you using McConaughey’s “dragon facing” strategy.

How do you face the COVID “dragon” in your business?

1) WHITE FLAG: Do nothing and wish that it’ll disappear.

2) ENDURE: Stick to your guns with a pre-Covid strategy and face the dragon head-on.

3) PIVOT: Change existing business strategy to adapt to the new normal.

Why do business professionals choose any of the above responses?

This typically has to do with a critical story they tell themselves. It could come from a direct negative or positive experience they directly faced in the past, or a similar event that happened to their colleagues or something they read about online.

In any case, that critical event has emotionally resonated with their personality and beliefs. So, they decided to act on it.

As we all know, this new economic landscape has impacted many businesses; many went under, some are barely surviving, others that were natively aligned with social distancing – like the Amazon and Netflix of the world – are more than hitting the jackpot.

But there is a fourth category that I think will change the future of work.

I’m naturally talking about people who lost their jobs and plan to start net new businesses to adapt to the new reality.

With all the hardships Covid has inflicted, the new constraints has opened up a new category of entrepreneurs that are taking charge and are rewriting their stories – from despair to hope.

According to Fortunly, 52 percent of the US workforce is expected to become gig workers by 2023.

Why is it important?

“The Future of Jobs Survey finds that 50% of employers will accelerate the automation of their work, while over 80% are set to expand the digitization of their work processes.

That means that some jobs that have been lost will never come back, and those that do will require new ways of working and new skills (World Economic Forum).”

Along with major advancements in technology that offer democratization of software (see the rise of no code platforms) and access to training in any field – there are no real obstacles for anyone with a great business idea.

But here’s the rub.

When every business in the attention battlefield is armed with the same access to technology, information and communication channels – the battle will be decided by strategy and skill:

Your story!

Need help with your visual storytelling? Let’s chat!

Shlomi Ron

Shlomi Ron is the founder and CEO of the Visual Storytelling Institute, a Miami-based think tank with a mission to bring the gospel of visual storytelling from the world of art to more human-centric and purpose-driven marketing. A digital marketing veteran with over 20 years of experience working both on the agency and brand sides for Fortune 100/500 brands such as Nokia, IBM, and American Express. He started VSI to combine his marketing expertise with his passion for visual stories stemming from his interests in classic Italian cinema and managing the estate of video art pioneer, Buky Schwartz. At VSI, he helps brands rise above the communication noise through visual storytelling consulting, training, and thought leadership. Select clients include Estée Lauder, Microsoft, and Cable & Wireless – to name a few. He currently teaches Brand Storytelling at the University of Miami’s Business School. Thought leader and speaker at key marketing conferences. He is also the host of the Visual Storytelling Today podcast, which ranks in the top 10 best business storytelling podcasts on the Web. His book: Total Acuity: Tales with Marketing Morals to Help You Create Richer Visual Brand Stories. Outside work, he is a nascent bread baker, The Moth fan, and longtime fedora wearer likely to jive with his classic Italian cinema interest.

All stories by: Shlomi Ron

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