“It’s an ill wind that blows no one any good”

Henry VI , Part 3

While working with clients we often use a mnemonic called P-E-S-T-L-E; Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, and Environmental. The idea is to look at these areas through the lens of your company to see where the threats and opportunities may lie. Typically, this is done as part of strategy development sessions. However, sometimes world events suggest a more ad hoc approach.

One of our clients has developed a really cool electric mini excavator (fits on the back of a pick-up and has the power of standard 1 Ton machines). At the same time, I have been reading about the devastation caused by two successive hurricanes. How will this affect their business I wonder?

The hurricanes have destroyed 1600 homes, ripped roofs off countless others, and flooded even more. Tons of salty sand have been washed inland. All in, the damage is expected to exceed $50Bn.

As Shakespeare actually said, "Ill blows the wind that profits nobody." *

The damages may exceed $50Bn but that also means that $50Bn of products and services will be pulled into the South East US.

What does this mean for your business?

The electric excavator company might be able to sell into the south-east. But even if they don’t, it may increase overall demand. If you are in the plywood business – there are a lot of roofs that need replacing. If you sell smart home technology – all those rebuilds might be interested. If you are in the traffic management sector, new neighbourhood traffic patterns need to be created.

So it doesn’t matter if you benefit directly from this ‘ill wind’, it will likely affect your business in some way (like a large pebble being thrown into your pond). How you respond to it is up to you – threat or opportunity?

When a major ‘ill wind’ event occurs, spend a few minutes asking what does this mean for me. Is it a threat - how do I mitigate? Or is it an opportunity – how do I capitalize?

Until next time, I wish you, "fair winds and following seas"

Andrew