​

Don’t Forget Your People!

Mary’s Memo 2021

We have all experienced a dramatic change in the way business is done. As businesses steer their way into the “next normal,” entrepreneurs face a myriad of challenges. So many decisions. Return to the office? Stay remote? Develop a hybrid plan? The answer will be different for every business, and dependent upon so many factors. In this time of transition, it is critical to rethink, and even recalibrate the ways in which you and your business will move forward.

Times, technology, and talent have all changed. During these unprecedented times, the business owner has been faced with a range of added challenges. Trying to cover payroll and rent, working with finance folks on acquiring and managing PPP and EIDL loans, all while working with IT on enhanced security measures, cutting expenses where possible, and making decisions on layoffs, furloughs, or staff retention and hiring, and more. Managing change. Managing the business. Managing yourself, an entrepreneur who could use “a little help here.”

One thing is for sure: conducting an Organizational Health Check is critical amidst constant changes, now more than ever. It’s why the Peak Development team is refreshing its resources for business owners, and reaching out to entrepreneurs just like you.

My message to business owners continues to be this: “Once the dust settles around the operations of your business, DO NOT FORGET YOUR PEOPLE.” Current events have forever changed both you and your employees. Everyone has been impacted in some way. Your employees may have been directly affected: perhaps they lost a loved one during the isolation, are in a relationship with a healthcare worker or first responder, were struggling to homeschool their children, or meeting the needs of multiple generations in their family. Organizational psychologists, research studies, and top business leaders alike all agree that there is a post-traumatic stress effect that affects every one of us is different, but real, ways.

The bottom line: the culture in your organization has changed. That Strategic Plan that you were working off of, if not amended in the past year, is out of date — to some degree, if not completely. Getting the money, payroll, inventory, technology, and building back in line is just a small sampling of all on which you need to focus.

But first, let me be clear. At the end of the day, turn your attention to this: Focus on where culture meets strategy to align your people and your company to what’s now a different future than you had been working towards. This offers you and your workforce a competitive edge, and stability.

I’ve been observing the workplace and those in it for decades. I literally wrote the book on

The 5 Generations in the Workplace. Quite the evolution we’re experiencing now. As was the case a decade ago, and more so now than ever, so much potential. And so many potential trouble spots. The “gap” between generations can significantly narrow, or become larger, if not carefully tended to. Do it right, there is much to gain. Ignore it at your own risk. Clearly, it is up to how you manage the culture going forward.

There are huge opportunities for advancement which lay before you. Reach out, and seize them!

Contact us to start a conversation.