Coach K and Mr Khoo Yik Chou were invited by the press Kwong Wah Yit Poh to discuss the economic outlook under the Pandemic circumstances on Facebook live on 29 April 2020, moderated by Mr Teoh from Kwong Wah Yit Poh. Mr Khoo Yik Chou is a Chartered Accountant and the owner of Total Group. Coach K is a Chartered Logistician, the Secretary General of The Society of Logisticians, Malaysia, as well as the Owner of Wisdom Woods. 

When asked about the economic recovery after the pandemic, Mr Khoo mentioned it depends on the types of products businesses are selling. He said that products that are basic needs will likely recover within 3 months whilst other luxury items may need a longer period. Coach K elaborated that basic needs today have changed. Whilst the food industry, especially those who were creative and adaptive, continue to trade, the clothing, the property and the people transport industries are suffering a different fate. Telecommunication and media have become important needs of the people, hence companies like Zoom has experienced a 20 times growth in users. Within the logistics industry, different types of businesses are facing different experiences. Passenger airline businesses have been hit bad whilst last mile delivery businesses have flourished under the MCO. Coach K reminded that economic theories suggest that the economy is driven by demand hence the more positive we are will attract more demand hence economic recovery will be faster.

Talking about what businesses should do, Coach K introduced 5 areas that businesses should look into, represented by 5 Chinese Characters. 金(cash)、心(mindset)、领(leadership)、创(creativity)、系(system).

金 Cash: Cash management is vital at this period of time to ensure that survival of companies. An cash dashboard should be setup to ensure that businesses know the cash situation at all times. Companies should plan its cash management for the next 6-12 months, identify the costs that can be deprioritized and decisively cut the costs.

心 Mindset: Employers should change their own mindset in several aspects, including mindsets toward customers, employees, suppliers, partners and even own products, to be mindful of the ways to survive in this unfamiliar environment.

领 Leadership: Leadership style may require a change too. The entire company team structure may need to change, to adapt to the work-from-home situation. Leaders also need to be mindful of the employees’ mental health, understanding that work-from-home will attract new challenges and stress. Lack of motivation is one of the known challenges of work-from-home.

创 Creativity: Regardless of the industries businesses are in, creativity is more important than ever. Market research is vital now to understand the new market and considerations need to made on whether products need to be altered to meet new demands or even the need to create new products; perhaps the current products have demand and it is the services that require creative change; or perhaps the promotional channel or methods that require creative change.

系 System: The operating system within a company may need a shake-up to adapt to the new environment. New standard operating procedures may be required to cater for work-from-home or to cater for better safety of the employees working at the company.

Mr Khoo agreed withCoach K and reminded businesses not to forget the basic administrative matters such as ensuring proper documentations and legal compliances. He also advised that traditional businesses should take the opportunity to evolve to be able to stay relevant.  Mr Khoo also advised that traditional businesses should evolve and ensure that the basic administrative matters are handled properly.

The moderator suggested whether the digital economy will be accelerated due to the pandemic and will it produce a new economic approach. Mr Khoo advised that SME and micro businesses should keep up to date with the business environment. For example, the need to make available online payment transactions as well as to make it more convenient for customers to purchase their products by digitalizing their business. Coach K reminded that digital economy, knowledge economy and IR4.0 had been in motion since before the pandemic. He mentioned that technologies, such as the big data analytics, robotics, Internet-of-Things, artificial intelligence, will be given more attention and their deployment will be accelerated. However, Coach K cautioned that manual work demand will decline, forcing human capital to move towards knowledge economy. Therefore, Coach reminded people who are staying at home during this MCO to learn and pick up new things at home through reading or online learning to prepare for the new economic model to come.

The moderator asked about the time needed for the economy to recover. Coach K shared that medical experts have expressed that it normally takes 12-18 months to produce a vaccine and perhaps recent intensity of the situation and global cooperation may reduce that to 6-8 months. In terms of the economy, Coach K said the longer it takes for us to control the pandemic, the duration required for the recovery will be further lengthen.

The moderator asked the speakers about how they see the current crisis. Mr Khoo explained that whilst many see it as a time of crisis, he sees it as a time of opportunity, especially for those who are willing to adapt and evolve. Coach K shared that he always maintained that opportunity always arises during any crisis. In fact, during good times, the strong gets stronger and there is little opportunity for the others to breakthrough; but during crisis, some of the strong will fall, creating gaps in the market new leaders to emerge.

You may watch the original discussion here, which was in Mandarin:

https://www.facebook.com/kwongwahwow/videos/242464956957974/UzpfSTIxNDI2MzUwNDkzMDEwNDc6MjczMjExMDk5MDM1MzQ0Nw/?__tn__=kC-R-R&eid=ARA0e3CAEw9Ut6aEHGTOkqtdHDn3EXaKwt9GD_EkLoGv-sV_Vo_C1ksiZyfxGM5Mdetk2Cg8zTiTaG2h&hc_ref=ARSi9wfdmRVUoem9ShgxZ_pde0v6pJr6OMdjqdTUt7brXqhogMkVpFSPOKLQmo_0eww&__xts__[0]=68.ARA--QEVXMoupNGtVEblYVUobIBUE90TzAexJ49td0WnBPI4yWKE-TNCEXnN6QXQuZgCc-8x8WWjPuYsqizxi62Zuy8VNRClcPshk15qgDsaSjgRk4qxJ4EufUAmYHVSJEn8JzfxK1e0otY4yeQy0m7lzJmIxcxyTKWKwQbX3dn5snE_vrl7qSDcL44sfOWZVox1G8eC5UDIWatR_c8hmZsVzeOyrmBC1iMCswbvE4wXDrrIKT9rhJtq-yxsUeMC8dxUE0c8qhUI2jCWeHrifI_N_Z0JPg0_zPlJE5ROONMXUtUtTOwSUeEqiZxm46osb_qFzVTPl3Cu7Kj7XlFG5RXVaiOnDle8Wvqp0g-3BU8-YEbak5iGID467R2L0rR8RFNtvnAplzK9fKUX_c7OkYgM_kXbblPWXWorVWc5uDd0xr_Nl1V5FgvvCyEuyUbTtuM5KuQ7iFs3lOyiv4TUGS8BJUoLHxjr2xGCYj6y_wJs34Jz