Much before the fitness videos of “Things we must do during lockdown” started mushrooming, I have been a disciplined fitness practitioner for many years now. Running for 40 minutes each day has been my favourite day-starter, whether I am in Daman or in Dubai.
After the reality of having to stay locked in the house started sinking in, no other form of exercise could satiate my daily requirement of 40 minutes of run. Naysayer in my brain kept tweeting that I have to skip my runfor next 60 days as I don’t have access to a 6km road stretch on which I can run due to lockdown norms.
Refusing to bog down, I decided to try running in my backyard, however small it was. As luck would have it, just in a week, my wife literally threw water on my plans by deciding to replant a patch of grass in the lawn (she needed some fresh ideas too, to keep her boredom away) and effectively closed my running track for a foreseeable future.
Frustrated and upset, despite much resentment from my family, I re-arranged the furniture in my 6 meters long living room so that I could again run for 40 mins. Running on the lawn and in the living room were two different worlds, having to negotiate slippery tiles and frequent turns.
Not seeing me running in my small garden, my friendly neighbor, Varun declared to his wife (who told my wife) that it was not easy to exercise during these times. One of the evenings, speaking across our fences, I caught up with Varun to enquire about how his manufacturing business was coping with the sudden changes, although, his wife was keener to hear how I maintained my exercise schedule. Voila! we stumbled upon the question of what my running habit got to do with what was happening to Varuns’s and many other businesses.
My normal activity of running on the road was curtailed due to the lockdown and I had to look at the world from a new perspective. I found a way to get the outcome I wanted by reframing my world view from “what was” to “what now” as far as running was concerned.
Not having a road to run for 6 kms was my imagined constraint that came in the way of getting required exercise / outcome.
While chatting with VarunI shared some answers to the imagined constraints which could as well be stopping you and your businesses from getting the outcome you want.
Reframing the Problem
This is a great option in case you want more creative and better solutions. I reframed my problem from “how to get out of the house during lockdown” to “how do I run 40 mins to get the exercise I want” to find the solution. How can you reframe the business problem facing you today?
Customizing your Solution
There is no one solution which will fit your situation as the environment is fast changing and none of us has been in this situation before. Your understanding of your target market, customers and your unique competitive environment is what is going to help you succeed.
Remaining Focused on the Desired Outcomes
You cannot use yesterday’s solutions for today’s problems. You will find the going tough as I found while running – due to the increase in the number of turns or the slipperiness of the tiles. However, you need to focus on the outcome you want and try various options till you get the outcome you want.
Make Your own Road
Life or circumstances will not remain the same, today it is due to the pandemic, tomorrow it could be any other crisis like loss of largest market due to government regulations or the appearance of a competitor with a better product. You will have to change and adapt and make your own road to the destination you want to reach.
We would love to help you to overcome the business challenges by looking beyond the imagined constraints.
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