So how was it for you? Well, the Covid-19 crisis for me, hasn’t been about any one moment. It’s been more about the kindness in crisis and the humour in being ‘human’ if that makes sense. For example, the compassion around mental health challenges, our even greater appreciation of the natural world around us and the fantastic creativity people have shared online to raise a smile when we’ve most needed it.

The lockdown period has given us all a chance to reflect on our personal values and its likely these will transition into the business world where social purpose will become important in the future. This of course doesn’t mean you can’t be commercial or profitable. It simply means creating an environment which brings out the best in people and allows them to be human and authentic.

Those companies with a strong social purpose will be the ones who attract and retain the best teams and customers. And, whilst there is no doubt that business and consumer spending habits will change as unemployment rises and confidence remains uncertain, recent research has shown that up to 50% of consumer spending habits will be based on social purpose values, even in recession.

Due to COVID-19, we all now have an elevated social responsibility to make the world a better place. Finding a new purpose for your business will help it stay relevant, improve your employer brand, and help you win new customers.

You can do this in several ways such as taking a stronger role in your local community or ‘place’, reviewing your supply chain to support local businesses, or helping employees play their part as the new normal settles in.

Now is the time to humanise your brand so use the next few months to build and foster deeper relationships and collaborative opportunities. Think about asking your customers what they most value and consider a re-positioning of your brand to stay relevant as the world changes.