COVID-19 Business Recovery – Don’t Bury Your Head in the Sand!

As hard as it might be at the moment to face the reality of the worldwide economic situation as a result of the Coronavirus, knowledge is power. No business leader can navigate their way through this, unless you understand exactly what you are dealing with in your industry, and as a result, how to plan for the future.

My business, EMCS Industries Ltd, is a supplier to cruise ships primarily. As part of the tourism industry as a whole the industry has been hit incredibly hard. On top of that, the first time the media began the 24/7 reporting on COVID-19, the world saw that it started with a cruise ship, the Diamond Princess. It did not start on a cruise ship as we now all know. What most people don’t know is that it started with ONE single case on the Diamond Princess. With so little COVID-19 awareness at the time the passengers were quarantined on the ship, if they had been removed from the ship to quarantine on land, there would never have been 700 people affected. Not even close. Hindsight is 20/20. Regardless, the industry has taken a solid beating, and literally millions of people associated with the contribution of the cruise industry are likewise affected.

I felt it appropriate to share this interview with Arnold Donald, CEO of Carnival Corporation. As tough as it is to watch, it is also an indication of how all our lives will be different for some time to come until social gathering can begin again. This has helped me personally to fully understand what I have to do to as CEO to survive this period. I really appreciated his candor and no excuses approach by Carnival Corporation CEO. My hope is that whatever industry you are in, that the people you rely on, are this honest. If we have the straight goods, we can plan accordingly to see this through. We have a chance to succeed.

Here is the interview on CNBC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwgYvKo8SU8&feature=youtu.be

Good luck to all business leaders, we need to stick together!