What Do We Most Need Now?

COVID-19 requires us to act

The impacts of COVID-19 on our country have been dramatic. It has challenged us in ways we could not have imagined.

We are heading towards bringing the virus under control in our communities within the United States. Cases are trending downward or are flat. Vaccines are being administered as they become available. It is predicted that everyone who wants a shot will be able to have one by the end of May. We should be able to resume most of our economic activity that stalled during COVID by this summer.

All of this is good news. However, these developments will not be enough. We will need to adopt a growth mentality to fully recover from this crisis.

Growing back stronger is the best path to our future.

Growth happens at many levels in a community. It occurs when existing organizations take on growth initiatives. It also happens when new businesses start or young businesses rapidly expand. Strategic investments in infrastructure or research initiated by local, state, and federal governments spur growth. Growth needs to be fostered at many levels.

Given where we are at as a nation, we will need multiple growth sources to recover fully.

Businesses and organizations need to invest in their growth starting now. Some have already invested in growing because what they offered was in more demand during the pandemic. Every other organization will need to grow as well. It is essential to prepare for the future ahead. Each company and organization must begin initiatives that will offer growth opportunities.

At MACNY-The Manufactures Association, we have committed to growing our services and reach to help you. We have shifted to digital delivery platforms that can serve anyone anywhere in New York State during this pandemic. We have doubled our value-adding events and offerings. And, we will begin phasing back in our in-person events this summer. MACNY built an infrastructure to sustain these changes. New networking, learning, training, and information services will offer members what they need to grow their business back more vital than ever.

We are also poised to help each organization create its own growth initiatives. MACNY is offering insights, connections, and growth projects support that every company needs. James Shomar, our Chief Growth Officer, is a proven growth leader who can help every company grow into its future. You can begin by joining one of his growth forums, entrepreneur series events, or connecting with him directly.

MACNY will also be active in shaping public policy for growth and governmental investments into infrastructure and research.

We need smart, growth-oriented public policy to spur our recovery.

Encouraging manufacturing growth in New York State and our country is vital. We need growth policies to do just this.

We also need investments in education and workforce efforts. There has never been a higher demand for technically skilled workers. Companies will be growing and will need these kinds of workers.

Finally, it is now time to invest in our infrastructure. It is long overdue. We need to invest in roads, bridges, railways, ports, and other physical infrastructure. We also need technology investment such as broadband and 5G. This is the communication network of today and tomorrow.

Furthermore, cutting-edge technology needs research dollars. MACNY supports legislation that will help fuel our tech expansion. We need this to foster our leadership in the world. This helps us maintain our national security and ensure we have economic vitality.

We have much to do to get this country growing again. I am excited about our opportunities. However, it will take hard work and a lot of focus on growth projects and initiatives. We need start-ups and existing businesses to flourish. Let us get to work growing again. We have done it before, and we can do it again.

Do you want more insights?

To learn more about leadership, visit me at www.macny.org.

To get a copy of my book Present-Future Leader, go to www.amazon.com.