BLT 19/3/20: Unintended consequences of Coronavirus #7 – The Virtual Breakfast

Our fortnightly breakfast networking group (BLT) has now been going for over 10 years (somebody will no doubt very soon correct me on exactly how long), but to date, we’d never held it online…until today. Granted, the sausage and eggs don’t taste quite as good when you’ve had to prepare them yourself (note to self: don’t eat all the eggs this week!)­­­, but the upshot was staying connected, as close to normal as possible, in these very difficult times.

We usually have a business-related theme, circulated in advance by that week’s chairperson, which we discuss during the meeting.

Given the rapidity of events, this fortnight’s theme was changed at the last minute to:

Q. How has Coronavirus affected your business to date and what unforeseen effects has it had…both good and bad?

I’ve attempted to summarise the highlights below – apologies if I’ve missed anybody out…I may have been fiddling with my Zoom Conference Call control buttons at the time, trying to find a virtual background (blame Phil Rose for that one!)

CONS (anonymous)

• B&B bookings have dried up almost entirely (for those who rent rooms out on AirBnB or Booking.com)
• One Can (Food Charity) is starting to struggle for donations, with demand exacerbated now that schools are set to close
• Cash is king – people have no confidence in investing at present…in anything
• Isolation for the elderly – those in care homes, who crave human contact, are being isolated (although technology is a potential enabler here)

PROS (BLT members cited)

• Desk assessments (HR requirement – correct seating…etc) are booming now that people are having to work from home [contact: Sarah Lawton – Simply Operations]
• Isolation boxes: some supermarkets are beginning to offer these / there is a run on honey (no pun intended…well ok, just a small one!) at present – whether people value it for health properties or just want to stock up for breakfast is not known! [contact: David Banes – Bean & Grain]
• Memoirs: time to write one? None other than Esther Rantzen was also recommending this the other day – if you’ve got time on your hands, and as a way of connecting with elderly displaced relatives, start to take note of their memoirs. Then write it up and self-publish. OK, so it’s a bit more involved than that, but I’ve already had a couple of enquiries, am currently writing one for my father’s impending 80^th, and will put out a series of articles complete with tips shortly [contact: Matt Noble Wright – Nobleword Copywriting]
• Video conferencing: as per this networking meeting, it’s surprisingly easy for those who were previously unused to it. Those who have been using it for a while, such as coaches to undertake virtual coaching are ahead of the curve here and can offer advice & tips [see below] on how to go about it [Phil Rose – Malabar Consulting]
• LinkedIn Campaigns: there has never been a better time to dust off and update your LinkedIn contacts. Granted, it may not result in immediate work (since everybody is mitigating their outgoings at present), but then marketing is usually a long-term play [contact: Mark Harris – Enterprise Doctor– for the marketing consultancy practicalities / Tony Thornby – Living Streams – for the digital marketing technicalities]

Phil’s Top tips for running and hosting virtual meetings

Virtual meetings are the same as face-to-face in that they need to be managed to get the best out of them. Here’s our 8 Top Tips for hosting and running virtual meetings that work!

1. Appoint a chair before the meeting – someone to run the meeting and manage the timings and control the conversation.
2. Ensure everyone logs in ahead of time (especially if it is their first time to ensure the technology works for them).
3. If needed also, as in face-to-face meetings agree someone to take minutes and specifically record and circulate actions.
4. Agree upfront the rules for the meeting – things like how to raise a point, how to talk, how and when to join in.
5. Agree the agenda before the meeting and then reconfirm it at the start of the meeting so everyone know why they are in the meeting and what’s expected of them.
6. Give each person ‘airtime’ and respect the speaker at that time. It’s very easy to talk over each other and then you will never hear anything!
7. When people are not talking ensure they place themselves on mute!
8. Start and finish on time as you would in a face-to-face meeting.

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Next Virtual Meeting scheduled for Thu 26th March 8:00am – please contact Helen Isacke if you’re interested in joining:  helen@trustedcoachdirectory.com

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