The coronavirus outbreak that started in China continues to wreak havoc, killing people, destroying businesses in their thousands, and kicking millions of workers out of employment and into eventual sever financial hardships. This trend has alarmed economists who now predict that the global economy is entering into an unprecedented recession.<\/p>\n
By the time of writing this article, there were an estimated 33,000 people who have lost their lives from the pandemic, 718,000 infections were confirmed, and 149,000 people had recovered globally, according to media reports.<\/p>\n
But like in every situation, regardless of how hard it might be, there are lessons to be learnt to make us better and more experienced people in the future.<\/p>\n
At Human Capital International<\/a> (HCI), we have keenly observed the global pandemic and in this article, we bring you six lessons to ponder on during these difficult times. We do so in the hope that in the near future, we will be better prepared to handle similar situations.<\/p>\n Consider the following lessons.<\/p>\n The coronavirus has led to many businesses losing revenue streams estimated in billions of dollars. As a result, some businesses have had no option but to close their doors completely while others, although limping, have taken drastic measures including laying off their staff, affecting many lives in the process. A key lesson to pick from this, is that employment or a business venture, is like human life; it can be lost at any time; it is never permanent. That means no matter your current skill, job, profession or trade, employed or not, learning different set of skills beyond your job descriptions is an innovative investment.\u00a0 Widening your set of skills while you can, is an excellent venture.<\/p>\n For business owners, it is critical to always have multiple revenue streams to sustain your business operations. Having a buffer, in terms of insurance and strengthening your relationship with your reliable service providers by way of integrity and trust will prove to be very resourceful in times like this because nothing is permanent.<\/p>\n If you still had doubts about the social and economic impacts of globalisation, COVID \u2013 19, which started in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, thousands of kilometres away from you, should be a classical wakeup call for you. If it was in the past century, maybe this disease would have remained a Chinese problem alone. But because of globalisation, where we have become one big village to the extent that whatever affects Canadians, affects Africans, we are all battling the effects of the coronavirus.<\/p>\n From this pandemic experience, start to follow global events and improve your world view because like it or not, globalisation has changed the way we live and work. And for corporate leaders, the effect on your leadership competence and influence is a subject we will return to soon.<\/p>\n Imagine during the current measures such as social distancing and complete lockdowns, prompted by governments and health authorities all over the world, all aimed at limiting the spread of the virus, you still had to go out and queue to pay for basic services such as banking or payment of bills, a scenario that is almost an impossibility in some countries in this twenty first century?<\/p>\n With technology however, you can transact from the comfort of your bedroom, thereby limiting your exposure and spread of the virus. You can order for food or a ride using your phone. You can also work from home if your business falls in the category of businesses that can be executed remotely. There is no middle line today, if you fail to improve your technological aptitude, you would have automatically excluded yourself from the massive opportunities that will follow after the pandemic because of technology. In times like these, technology makes you a winner.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s face it, leadership, whether for an SME, a large corporation or a country in times of crises, isn\u2019t for boys and girls. It requires courage, insight and the ability to withstand pressure in the face of taking very unpopular decisions. Imagine governments who have shut down markets, transport and tourism sectors among others, rendering millions of workers unemployed? Such decisions may be unpopular considering that those affected solely depend on these sectors for sheer survival. But a leader must act to protect the bigger picture for the common good of the larger society. The ability to ably communicate this message is a requirement of leadership, especially in times of crisis. Because leadership is about decision making, and effectively communicating decisions to the understanding of the ordinary member of the group, is extremely important, nothing more nothing less.<\/p>\n As an employee or a business, you must have a budget that caters for eventualities. Crises may not warn you but they will require your actions to address them. Like now, as an entrepreneur, do you have funds to support your staff in these difficult times? Or as an employee, do you have some emergency fund that can take you for at least, six months if you lose your job? Having some emergency funds means you must mind the way you spend your salary and other incomes. COVID \u2013 19 has taught us that emergencies are inevitable, but the question is, are you able to meet them with little crying or stress when they occur?<\/p>\n Until now, many of the baby boomers and dot.com rich, wealthy and highly educated generations, have been finding solace in their money and wealth. They pride themselves in the fact that they are able to purchase solutions to most of their socio-economic problems with their wealth and riches. But see, with the pandemic around, the fancy cars are now grounded and so is the bicycles and motor cycles.<\/p>\n The first class, and business class passenger is kept a bay and so is the economic class passenger. The rich are indoors and so is the poor, whether in a madhouse or in a mansion. The rich are running for their lives and so are the poor. The rich are rushing for hand sanitizers, face masks and soap and so is the poor no matter the colour or quality. Doctors, professors, Prime Ministers and other senior government officials have tested positive and so are the very poor in the same societies. They have all been quarantined whether you like it or not. COVID \u2013 19 is no respecter of persons, sex, colour, or nationality, proving to all humanity that in everything we do, we must always put God first.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s use COVID -19 to make some basic changes in our core values, and beliefs and learn to appreciate humanity for who they are and not for what they are. We are all in this together, rich, poor, educated, uneducated, black, or white, from a so-called developed continent or an undeveloped continent. Because that is the heartbeat of God. We shall prevail together.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The coronavirus outbreak that started in China continues to wreak havoc, killing people, destroying businesses in their thousands, and kicking millions of workers out of employment and into eventual sever financial hardships. This trend has alarmed economists who now predict that the global economy is entering into an unprecedented recession. 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