COVID-19: A Press Review for Businesses (updated May 11)

COVID-19: THE BEST ARTICLES PUBLISHED SO FAR. FOR BUSINESSES.

 

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Unless you’ve been living under a rock during the last few weeks (in which case: Hi! Welcome back…), you’ve heard everything you need to know (and didn’t want to know) about the new coronavirus, COVID-19. The media, social platforms and others, have been releasing continuous updates on the outbreak, including the huge impact it’s having on the financial market and small and medium businesses. And this impact, especially on companies, is multifaceted.

Businesses whose supply chain relies heavily on China, have to face probable, or already occurring, supply shortages. The cultural industry is facing monumental loss of income. Street-front retailers show a net decrease in visitors and sales and must find ways to protect their employees. IT and consulting firms are implementing last-minute and ill-organized crisis plans. Freelancers are suddenly faced with an empty inbox.

It’s easy now to declare, “We should have been prepared for this.” The truth is, a pandemic like the one we’re facing is always a distant possibility, one that should be considered in your crisis management plan. But honestly, nobody is in their right mind is acting every day as if the next crisis is right around the corner. That’s why having a strong plan is always the solution. It won’t help you deal with everything, but it will help you go through a crisis more easily.

A few weeks ago, we published an article about the importance of having an economic and political assessment. Now, we wanted to help you find the best information out there to help you deal with the actual crisis, but also to help you prepare for the next. Because who knows … right?

So here’s a brief press review prepared for you by our team here, at Getting to Global.

 

THE BEST ARTICLES TO MANAGE THE CURRENT CRISIS

Combating the Coronavirus

U.S. Chamber of Commerce — Frequently updated
Pretty much the resource you need to look at to know what’s going on in the U.S. regarding governmental help to businesses. The U.S. Chamber of commerce updates the page frequently. You’ll find there all the resources, guides, and webinars, as well as a list of policies, community responses, and returning to work plans. [Lots of resources]

 

Nav’s list of resources to help small and medium businesses

Nav — Updated frequently
Nav created a lot of useful tools to help businesses navigate COVID-19 relief measures. You’ll find here tier SBA loan calculator as well as a guide to help you fill the paycheck protection program application form. It’s all here and here.

 

How Small Businesses Can Get Help During the Coronavirus Outbreak

Lendedu — By TJ Porter — April 9, 2020
Many groups, including federal and local governments and private banks and companies, have offered coronavirus assistance to small businesses. If you own a small business, these programs can help you receive grants and low-interest loans. See how you could get help! [10 min. read]

 

Covid-19 Business Resources

Economic Development Collaborative — Updated Frequently
This is definitely a must see page, containing all the recent news on COVID-19 and how to help businesses hit by the storm. They also showcase a their weekly webinars and a list of recommended actions. [Lots of material]

 

SMBs Survival Guide: Best 8 Financial Tools to Combat COVID-19

FinImpact — By Daniel Lewis — May 10, 2020
You’ll find here a useful guide for businesses in the U.S., with a top 8 places to avail of financial remuneration to survive the onslaught.              The writer, Daniel Lewis, is a MBA accredited investment professional. [15 min. read]

 

How Chinese Companies Have Responded to Coronavirus

Harvard Business Review — By Martin Reeves, Lars Faeste, Cinthia Chen, Philipp Carlsson-Szlezak, and Kevin Whitaker — March 2020
China was the first to experience the crisis and its impact. HBR analyzed the current Chinese situation to extract 12 early lessons for leaders elsewhere. “To be sure, China has its own distinct political and administrative systems, as well as social customs, but many of the lessons here seem broadly applicable.” [10 min. read]

 

Coronavirus: How Companies Around the Globe Are Responding

Forbes — By Alap Shah — February 3, 2020
This article presents a short snapshot of what companies from all around the world are doing to deal with the crisis. It doesn’t go into detail, but it will give you an idea of how companies are responding to protect their teams and keep their operations going. [15 min. read]

 

Your brand’s response to COVID-19

By Alexandra Ungureanu (on LinkedIn) — March 12, 2020
“As your organization works to figure out the business implications of COVID-19, marketing teams should jump into action, changing their digital campaigns and advertising.” We say that the remedy to boredom is action. A lot of your projects are being canceled and your team is stuck home? Why not rethink your marketing? [5 min. read]

 

How Businesses Should Handle the Coronavirus Outbreak

Entrepreneur — By Aparjita Saxena — 2020
Entrepreneurs put together a handy guide, “on best practices companies and human resources departments should follow to help their employees stay healthy and infection-free.” Most of all, it’s a great guide for small businesses trying to figure out how to manage the crisis. And they don’t overlook important details, such as the importance of having an effective leave policy that encourages sick employees to stay home. [4 min. read]

 

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Small Business Guidance & Loan Resources

U.S. Small Business Association (SBA) — 2020
The U.S. Small Business Association (SBA) published a guide containing everything small and medium businesses need to know, including loan programs, access to capital, and local assistance. If you’re in the United States, this is THE page to keep in your favorites. [10 min. read]

 

Guide: How COVID-19 delays could affect your supply chain from contracts to insurance and custom clearance

TradeReady by FITT — by Rahim Mohtaram — March 12, 2020
Fitt offers here a much-needed guide on the impact of COVID-19 on supply chains and on how to deal with the issue. “Most companies love win-win cooperation, but we might not win too much in the current situation. Survive-survive is a more reasonable and logical strategy for some businesses these days. Those companies who like to gain more by employing the win-loss strategy will be accused by society for neglecting social and corporate responsibilities. It’s not a good time to pursue profit over social well-being.” [10 min. read]

 

CITC Covid-19 Business Resources

California International Trade Center (CITC)—Updated Frequently
The CITC has created a page to keep businesses updated on COVID-19. They also offer a wide range of free webinars on global trade and ecommerce and a list of resources guides. They target first California businesses, but most of their resources are useful statewide. [Lots of different resources]

 

COVID-19 Information and Resources

Google — Updated Frequently
Google has a whole page dedicated to COVID-19, with health information, safety and prevention tips, data and insights, resources, Google’s response efforts, and more. They can help businesses find training resources, use Hangout, etc. The page is updated frequently. [Lots of different resources]

 

THE BEST ARTICLES TO PREPARE YOURSELF FOR THE NEXT CRISIS

 

What’s Your Company’s Emergency Remote-Work Plan?

Harvard Business Review — By Cali Williams Yost — February 28, 2020
The HBR offers here a step-by-step process to follow to prepare your organization to not only flexibly respond to the current disruption, but also to use it as an opportunity to reimagine working remotely. The guide was written before the crisis became a reality for most of us, but if it doesn’t help you now, it could help you face any future coming crisis! [5 min. read]

 

COVID-19: Implications for business

McKinsey and Company — By Matt Craven, Linda Liu, Mihir Mysore, and Matt Wilson — March 2020
“This article is intended to provide business leaders with a perspective on the evolving situation and implications for their companies.” It gives an overview of the crisis as it evolves, with the potential economic impacts, and how to face what’s coming. And most importantly, they keep it updated! [30 min. read]

 

Welcome to the crisis era. Are you ready?

PWC — March 2020
PWC gives us an insight in crisis management. They spoke to 164 global CEOs about their views, struggles and approaches to crises and they offer here perspectives on what organizations can do to better prepare themselves for whatever crises may lie ahead. [15 min. read]

 

A Blueprint for Crisis Management

Ivey Business Journal — By Christine Pearson — February 2020
“As recent history has shown, many organizations that have prepared for blackouts, natural disasters and even the Y2K threats have been able to manage when the unforeseen become reality. The lesson we can all learn—and learn to apply—is that preparing for the unseen calls for versatility. It is the very foundation of organizational crisis management.” The guideline included in this article is a good start if you want to implement a crisis management plan. [15 min. read]

 

The Ultimate Guide to Crisis Management

HubSpot — By Kristen Baker — April 2019 (updated March 2020)
The crisis management process involves much more than managing the crisis itself, even if that step is arguably the most important part. Hubspot has created here what is probably the most exhaustive guide we’ve seen offered for free. You’ll find here all the steps, including the development of the crisis management plan itself, and also how to prepare your teams and your jobs. [10 min. read]

 

THE BEST ARTICLE FOR REAL-TIME DATA

 

COVID-19 Coronavirus Outbreak

Worldometer — Updated everyday
The Worldometer is run by an international team of developers, researchers, and volunteers. Their main goal is to make statistics available in a thought-provoking and time relevant format. Worldometer is owned by Dadax, an independent company, and they claim to have no political, governmental, or corporate affiliation. And their COVID-19 coronavirus statistics page is the most complete and up-to-date we could find.

 

Coronavirus Resources Center

MarketPlace — Janet Nguyen — Frequently updated
A short review of the market situation, updated every week. A good read for people who want to stay up to date but don’t need to go into details. They analyze the Dow Jones, S&P 500, and NASDAQ values. [5 min. reading]

 

THE BEST PAGES OF THE CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION (CDC)

Key Facts — March 2020

The CDC created a list of key facts that are worth spreading. You can also download the printer-friendly version and post it. [5 min. read]

 

About — March 2020

Their page on the virus itself also contains a lot of information about prevention and treatment, stigma and reliance, etc. Here again, you’ll find printer-friendly version you can post. [5 min. read]

 

Situation Summary

This page contains pretty much all the relevant and up-to-date information we have on the virus and the situation in the U.S. [11 min. read]

 

Interim Guidance for Businesses and Employers to Plan and Respond to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19)

This page has been created to help employer plan, prepare, and respond to COVID-19. “The following interim guidance may help prevent workplace exposures to COVID-19, in non-healthcare settings. (CDC has provided separate guidance for healthcare settings.) This guidance also provides planning considerations for community spread of COVID-19.” [10 min read]

 

THE BEST ARTICLES FOR A MORE LEGAL PERSPECTIVE

 

Covid-19 and the Trade Community

MSK — By Susan Kohn Ross—March 16, 2020
A much needed legal perspective for businesses concerning the force majeur clause. Can you invoke it to get out of a contract? “Is that language sufficient to permit cancellation under the current circumstances of the COVID-19 outbreak? Probably so, since it mentions pandemics and the World Health Organization has labeled the outbreak as such, but would this language have been broad enough to cover the situation a month ago? Maybe not.” [8 min. read]

 

Coronavirus Resources Center

McDermott—Frequently updated
McDermott put together a multidisciplinary team to create an extremely interesting FAQ for employers, including multinational employers. They answer everything from employers’ obligations, laws and regulations, what to do with a sick employee, etc. A must read. [30 min. reading/FAQ]

 

THE BEST ARTICLES IN THEIR OWN CATEGORY

How you can help small businesses impacted by COVID-19?

Bankrate — Meredith Hoffman — April 6, 2020
COVID-19 is affecting us in different ways. But when hopelessness sets in, often, the best remedy is action. But what can you do? This article will give you some ideas you can implement to help small businesses around you and do your part. While we are all separated by social distancing measures, as a nation we are in this fight together. By remaining loyal to your favorite local shops and restaurants, you can help your community continue to thrive through times of hardship. [5 min. read]

 

China too risky? Do you need a new strategy for your FDI in the face of COVID-19?

TradeReady by FITT — by Peter Gray — March 5, 2020
This article is extremely interesting for those of you already exporting in Asia or thinking about it (in the current COVID-19 context). The writer is a long-term resident of Singapore. “The perfect storm created by the U.S.-China trade war and compounding COVID-19 virus will affect current and future trade, development and FDI decisions. Your Asia development strategy should include the ASEAN region to capitalize on immediate and emerging growth opportunities and to diversify risk.” [9 min. read]

 

Feeling Anxiety About Coronavirus? A Psychologist Offers Tips to Stay Clearheaded

UCSF — By Nina Bai — March 6, 2020
This one is a bit more personal… But whether you’re an employee, a CEO, a freelancer or an entrepreneur, the current situation is probably putting a lot of new stress on you. And dealing with this stress is paramount to crisis management as a whole. So here are a few simple tips to help you clear your head. [3 min. read]

 

Yes, You Actually Can Do Something About The Coronavirus

BuzzFeed — By Anne Helen Petersen — March 11, 2020
We all have a role to play in the current pandemic. “No individual can stop the coronavirus from spreading. But we can make crucial changes—big and small—to protect and help the people around us.” We all need to be reminded of this. And this is why we think this article is a must read. [10 min. read]

 

Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Frequently Asked Questions

USDA, U.S. Department of Agriculture — Updated Frequently
The USDA put together a list of questions and answers concerning COVID-19 and its impact of agriculture and food supply. It contains a lot of extremely relevant information, including the measures put in place by the USDA to face the crisis. [45 min. reading for all the questions]