Covid19: It's Time for Leaders to Lead and Businesses to Start Spending

Covid-19 has swept across the world and has fundamentally changed our society in the space of just a few weeks. Schools are closed, examinations are cancelled, conferences postponed, offices are empty, public transport is deserted, the roads are empty.

I have two elderly parents who are both vulnerable, my partner and I are self-isolating and there is panic buying in the shops. Am I scared? Of course I am.

As CEO of DLA Ignite I need to think about my business and how my staff, partners and suppliers will be impacted by the decisions I take now and in the coming few weeks. I do not want to lay-off any of my staff. They have families, loans, mortgages and aspirations and they look to me for leadership and direction but I certainly need to lead by example.

As a small business I must find a way to make what we have work as hard as possible. Which is why I’m calling on big business to start spending.

I know that one large tech company has just cancelled an exhibition. So what are they going to do with that budget? Are they going to put it in the bank and wait? What about the suppliers that were counting on that money to pay their salaries and their suppliers. And the staff who were counting on that salary to pay their bills. So what should they do with the money?

Companies should now know how much cash they have and how long it will last, so now is the time to replan when and where to spend that money.

Successful business leaders know that they need to spend their way out of a situation like this.

So which of you are going to be first out of the gate. What you do over the next 4 weeks, will decide the future for your company. This is about determining your business for the future and building a new road map for the new normal. 

I’m calling today on Sales, Marketing and People Leaders to take this as an opportunity to invest in your business. I call on you to start spending this cash, however small or large, with outside suppliers. To make your company fitter and stronger by empowering your team to have the digital skills they need in this new normal.

If you agree, please like and comment. If you agree, (my network is only so wide) please tag somebody that you think should read this.

Thank you and I hope that we can all get through this together!