COVID-19, You Ruined My 2020 Plans





By Dave “Dr. Dave” Cornelius, DM
On Wednesday, March 3, 2020, I drove from meeting with a client in Phoenix to my home in Tucson. I had planned to attend an entrepreneur event at the University of Arizona, but I did not feel well so I decided not to attend. That night I got the chills, body aches, fever, the works: the flu.
This can’t be the flu, I thought. I took the flu shot. When I take the flu shot, I never get the flu.
I called my client the next day. I let them know that I would be out for the rest of the week and would return to work on Monday. By Sunday the chills and body aches had gone away, but I had a cough that took my breath away. My client kindly offered to have me to work remotely for the rest of the week…
The following week, they told me that everyone would be working remotely. The Phoenix office would be temporarily closed due to COVID-19.
I had big plans for 2020. I was going to pay off some debt and experience financial freedom, all while launching a startup company. I know this may sound like an oxymoron – how does someone get out of debt AND launch a startup? But it was possible for me; I was about to sign a contract with my client that would have kept revenue flowing through Q1 of 2021. But now? That contract, along with just about everything else in the world, is in uncertain territory. Perhaps you can relate!
We are currently in a Turbulent, Uncertain, Novel, and Ambiguous (TUNA) season. I’m sure most of us are feeling some emotional distress during these times – I certainly am (I enjoy fresh tuna, but not when it is turning my world upside down)!
The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented event in our lifetime, and it has created turbulence, uncertainty, and ambiguity for our lives and businesses. We have a health crisis, social justice challenges, financial crisis, and political chaos in the United States and around the world. As the chaos has persisted this past 5 months, I have found myself asking one big question:
“How will I survive this TUNA mess and get back to my 2020 plans?”
I am sure many others are having the same conversations and worries.
Lately, I’ve been researching ways to navigate this TUNA dilemma, as my plans prior to COVID-19 have now been nuked. In my research, I found a few articles on scenario-based planning that may help, and I’ve turned to the agile concept and practice of Design Thinking Strategy to help me visualize my choices in this new world. How does Design Thinking Strategy work? There are seven main steps:

* Identify the strategic problem (what is blocking us from achieving our aspirations?)
* Frame a question (turn the problem into a question; “How might we…”)
* Generate strategic possibilities
* Ask, what would have to be true to make these possibilities a reality?
* Identify barriers (what is the greatest challenge?)
* Test to learn (research, create prototypes, run design tests)
* Make a choice

Use the strategic choice cascade:

* Winning aspiration
* Where to play?
* How to win?
* What are the capabilities?
* Management systems
*

If I use the Design Thinking Strategy framework, I can define a path forward for my current situation. Let’s break it down:
My Strategic Problem: COVID-19 disrupted economic flow for trainers and coaches
My Question: How can I train and coach clients virtually and retain a competitive rate?
Possibilities: Use Zoom meeting with PowerPoint; Create on-demand, stand-alone courses
What would have to be true: Clients are open to virtual training and coaching.
Identify barriers: It may be tough to connect with decision makers; I’ll have to develop a digital course ...