Thrive, Strive, Survive

What better place to start than with a quote from the American anarchist Bob Black! “The reinvention of daily life means marching off the edge of our maps”. Sounds like we went to a quote generator in Google, right? But think about it, reinvention figures widely, now more than ever, in the world of Commerce. Brands still have the opportunity to grow, acquire new clients, and meet emerging demands but the technology is reinventing itself

Not that everybody’s doing it. Some are evolving, based on their new vision, knowledge, and momentum. A constant form of adaption to ensure they stay ‘ahead of the covid curve’, or at least remain relevant until the nation emerges. So what does happen when the outside decides to veer off in an unexpected direction, any carefully laid ideas for planned evolution can quickly go out the window, and instead we find ourselves forced to venture tentatively beyond the ‘map’ of our known world.

The conversations we’re having, and there’s a lot of conversations, tell us that businesses are falling into one of four camps – thriving, striving, just surviving – we know we said “four” but let’s dwell on the last one.

The “Thrivers” we are speaking to are seeing demand explode! Businesses have told us that April sales are double Black Friday. Their challenge is that pre-emptive furloughing is leaving them fighting to keep the commerce “train” on the tracks and the supply chain “furnaces” fed with fuel. The question for the “Thrivers” is how they maintain the advantage they’ve gained; how they invest to stay stronger and not simply burn out – no one wants to be a flash in the pan.

The “Strivers” have less demand but a pioneering spirit. They believe in the opportunity to reach bountiful pastures if they can just keep climbing the mountain path and make it to the other side. They’re willing to bet “part of the farm” on making it through, staying ahead of the competition and staking their claim in the brave new world. The question for the “Strivers” is plotting out the best path, making sure the risky routes are manageable and that everyone pulls together to climb the steeper and more precipitous paths.

The “Survivors” are pulling down the shutters, turning out the lights, locking the cash back in the safe, putting their fingers in their ears saying “la-la-la, we can’t hear you”. It’s classic bunker mentality. It keeps you alive if you have plenty of tinned goods on the shelf and clean water, but you’ll never know what’s waiting when you open the doors. The question for the “Survivors” is what if you climb back out of the ground and find that someone else is living in your house.

What’s your brand’s Covid psychology, Thrive, Strive or Survive? Whatever your strategy as we “navigate off the edges of the map” us, our partners and your peers will be sharing the good, the bad, the ugly and, hopefully, the brilliant.

Let’s keep the conversations going.