PART 1: “The Human Mindset” for Businesses and Startups

We are seeing an unprecedented event unfold all around us. These are uncharted waters, and around the globe there are so many people that have been impacted by this pandemic. We are all trying to do our part to help the world heal. There are those who are comparing this to the Global Financial Crisis, and other crises, but for those of us who lived through those, this just feels different. The impacts on health, actions around social isolating and shutdowns, and the rapid pace at which this has evolved is like nothing we’ve seen in our lifetime.

Governments globally, and here in Australia, have reacted and mobilised. First with healthcare resources to save and protect lives, and then followed with rounds of stimulus packages in the wake of economic hardship by individuals and businesses, trying to put the gears in place so that we can bounce back on the other side of this.

With over 20 years history in business development and sales in technology, and recently forming a new team under Allied Legal to build a Legal & Innovation advisory firm, we, like many others, faced difficulties in how to act and conduct our business. So many businesses have been shut down, so many employees have the lost their jobs and, on the other hand, there are businesses trying to keep their head above water, survive, and, for a select few, try and make a profit. But there’s a difficulty in putting ‘survive’ and ‘profit’ in the same sentence.

For traditional businesses, a question arises about whether this is still about making money. Many banks and financial institutions have deferred payments or lowered their interest rates to help ease the burden of loans and mortgages, other companies are offering flexible terms of engagement, or special offers for those in need.  Historically ‘cash-is-king’ institutions are reflexively changing their policies to take a more empathetic, more human centred approach. On top of that, there are not-for-profit businesses and businesses for good that have ramped up their services, and so many acts of kindness from businesses offering their products and services at no charge to protect or transform community and society.

In amongst the frightening health and financial crisis of coronavirus, we are also experiencing a collective accelerant for innovation and breakthrough thinking. Perhaps it is in these times of crisis that we can see what humanity does best – solve problems and come up with transformational ways to improve lives, and change society for the better.

Before the travel bans were in place, before the severity of coronavirus was understood, I was travelling through Canada, the USA, and Asia and I was able to witness firsthand the strength and unity of the global startup and technology community. With that connection at heart, we all have a role to play in picking up the pieces of this pandemic. But where do we start, what do we do, and how do we do it?

Elite athletes have the “Olympic mindset”, some business training courses teach the “growth mindset” or “championship mindset” — maybe what is needed now is the “Human Mindset”.  

Stay tuned for the next post in this series where we will discuss the “Human Mindset”. Whether you are in the corporate world, traditional business, or startup-land, adopting the Human Mindset may help with what to say, what to do, and how to act.

Inder Singh – Director