Business as Usual

By Sean Gerard Angel Pijuan

It is the nature of business to persevere despite difficulties and disturbances. It is an unchanging state of affairs with organized efforts from which we make-a-living. The COVID-19 crisis has not changed this aspect of business, only interrupted it. A business has to maintain momentum or cease, upholding the status quo despite difficulties. Business as usual.

This term was originally used by businesses to announce that they were still open despite the weather, construction, or other kinds of interruptions. The expression became popular during World War 1. It was adopted as a type of rallying cry or slogan, even when it became clear that the war would disrupt businesses.

We need to reinvent our finance and operations to deal with the urgency and complexity that the coronavirus has slapped on our businesses. At the same time, we have the responsibility of rapidly addressing the needs of our employees, customers, and suppliers.

The greatest step to take is not the first, but the next. To continue adapting to the new norms. To outmaneuver uncertainty by finding opportunities in our challenges. To become a company that builds new competencies based on new grounds: becoming digital and data-driven, create more structures for variable cost, more flexible operations, and incorporate automation.

To continue doing business, we need first to address the key pillar to fight the COVID-19. The 1st one is supporting workers in the workplace. We do this by strengthening the OSH (occupational safety and health) measures, providing health access, and implementing adaptable work arrangements. The 2nd pillar is more dependent on the government’s help, by partnering with them and being aware of the opportunities they provide. We should extend social protection for all, implement employment retention measures, and provide financial or tax and other relief for enterprises. And the 3rd pillar, relying on social dialogue for solutions. This is about strengthening the capacity and resilience of employers’ and workers’ through communication by strengthening social dialogue, and labor relations institutions and processes.

We also need to be connected with the newfangled habits of our customers and not expect them to act the same way before. The global pandemic has impacted our experiences and our attitudes. Behaviors are changing as a result. Businesses will need to consider these changes when designing, communicating, building and running the experiences that people need and want.

Businesses are built to traverse an ocean of change. Our vast ocean is filled with unexpected events. To navigate through this, means we need to be adaptable and persistent. We need to find new ways and ideas to grow. As the saying goes, “rough seas make good sailors”. In the case of business, “rough seas build good momentum.”

 

Sean Gerard Angel Z. Pijuan is the Senior Quality Management Officer of Invictus Prime Holdings Corporation, a corporation that manages the consolidation and integration of operations within its companies:  Complete Logistic Control Inc., ZKO Group Distributors Inc., Philfast Global Forwarding Inc., Satellite GPS Tracking and Asset Management System Corp., and SCMIX Builders Inc.