Inside Strategic Coach with Dan Sullivan - Business Innovations and Adaptations During COVID-19

Introduction

• Hosts: Shannon Merer, Dan Sullivan
• Focus: How businesses are changing due to the COVID-19 pandemic
• Discussion of innovations, reshaping of businesses, and response strategies
• Personal and business experiences of adapting to the pandemic

Major Shift in Technology Use

• Dan Sullivan: Celebrated birthday recently; born in 1944
• Biggest technological shift witnessed: Increase in Zoom usage
• Before March 2020: 10% of clients used Zoom daily; Now: 95% use Zoom regularly
• Adaptation to new normal: Entrepreneurs' change in thinking and future plans

Changing the Way We Think About the Future

• Zoom: Capability boost; everyone learning at the same time
• Adjustments needed for virtual engagements: Backgrounds, engagement, communication
• Two-Hour Session Approach:
  • Strategic Coach transitioned quickly (10 days) to two-hour Zoom sessions
  • Client feedback: Positive reception of virtual mini-workshops
  • Pros and cons: Superior content delivery via Zoom; in-person socialization irreplaceable

Impact of Zoom on Workshops

• Pre-pandemic: 125 in-person workshops per quarter (500 annually)
• Now: Shift to virtual workshops; experimental but successful
• Reduced travel and logistical costs
• Global reach: Ability to conduct workshops for clients anywhere, reducing barriers for international clients

Client Adaptations and Success Stories

• Example: Norm Dunan
  • Entrepreneur in the restaurant and bar industry (whiskey-focused)
  • Pivoted during lockdown: Transformed restaurant into a specialized grocery store
  • Inventory of products and home delivery services
  • Result: 75% of typical gross income with 80% reduction in expenses

Entrepreneurial Mindset and Resilience

• Entrepreneurs: More resourceful and proactive amid challenges
• Some entrepreneurs are even hiring, leveraging the availability of talent due to layoffs
• Positive outlook despite varying degrees of impact
• Strategic thinking: Use of fear and uncertainty as motivators for action

Personal Experience: Turning Off the News

• Dan Sullivan: Stopped watching mainstream news in July 2018
• Observations: Disconnect between news narrative and entrepreneurial reality
• Reflection: News media projecting their own fear; entrepreneurs experiencing a different reality

Future Plans for Strategic Coach

• Short-Term Plan:
  • Continue with Zoom workshops until in-person is possible again
  • Launching a new virtual-only Strategic Coach program starting September
• Long-Term Vision:
  • Combination of in-person and Zoom workshops
  • Increased frequency of engagement: Regular reinforcing sessions between main workshops
  • Broader geographical reach: Focusing more on time zones than locations

Conclusion

• Excitement about new capabilities and adapting to changing circumstances
• Encouragement for others to explore adaptive possibilities
• Contact info for more details: strategiccoach.com/virtual