Are Business Continuity, Business Recovery, and Business Planning the same thing?
Business Planning
Q2 helps clients develop business plans and hold them accountable for successful implementation. Typically, the business plan looks ahead 5 years, then specifically at the next 12 months. 90 day goals and milestones, with related actions and deadlines, are identified as the stepping stones towards annual goals.
That’s business as usual.
Then along came the Covid-19 crisis. Suddenly it was difficult to think ahead to next month, let alone next year.
Enter Business Continuity Planning
Business planning suddenly transitioned into business continuity planning for immediate survival. Planning for closed borders and businesses, tight cashflow, remote working, home schooling, landlord negotiations, supply chain disruption, keeping staff and customers safe, wages subsidies, business finance, redundancies, Zooming, legal and tax changes, essential services etc.
Businesses “pivoted” by utilising available resources to provide different products or services for which there was suddenly high demand.
It became business unusual.
Then after almost 7 weeks we graduated from lock down levels 3 and 4, to level 2.
Enter Business Recovery Planning
With the return to schools, offices and factories things are different.
Business is more risky – lost customers, bad debts, rising unemployment, cancelled contracts, reduced business confidence and spending, business failures, cashflow pressures, recession, red ink.
During the current business recovery phase we must identify and manage risks, as well as maximise business opportunities. This phase could last months, or even years, before a new normal arrives.
We still need to plan – not as short term as during the business continuity phase, but not 5 years out either. The next three to six months is probably as far as most businesses can practically plan at present.
The new normal, when it arrives, will be significantly different to the previous ”business as usual”. Now is the time to plan, to protect, and to future proof our business.
Register now for our free Business Recovery in Action webinar here.