Strategic Planning Amid the Pandemic: How CFOs Turn Vision into Execution

Editor's Note:This article is a contributed piece by Jason Maynard, Senior Vice President of Global Field Operations at Oracle NetSuite. The views expressed in the article are solely those of the author and do not reflect the position of the platform.

When Stephen Covey proposed "First Things First," he could not have foreseen the full-scale impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Overnight, a direct conflict could arise between "staying true to core business" and "business survival."

Amid the current upheaval, financial leaders are being forced to reassess their companies' business models, compressing processes that once took months into weeks or even days.

Take Bedford Industries, for example. This 54-year-old manufacturer specializes in flexible products—such as twist ties for bread bags and ElastiTags for grocery items—and quickly pivoted to producing face shields after the pandemic broke out.

News of the pivot spread quickly, and the company was inundated with sales inquiries. This enterprise, which had relied purely on a direct sales team, suddenly began supplying over 500,000 face shields per month to medical institutions, while also selling its existing nose bridge wire products directly to consumers sewing cloth masks at home.

Facing overwhelming demand, Bedford had to restructure its distribution model and technical infrastructure: launching an e-commerce website and shipping directly to buyers. Today, a large number of new customers view Bedford as a supplier of personal protective equipment (PPE) and a provider to the medical industry. The company still produces flexible products made from plastic and metal composites, but the market, messaging, and sales techniques are now vastly different—its vision has expanded.

In just a few weeks, Bedford transformed from a pure B2B supplier into an omnichannel, direct-to-consumer manufacturer. Its success stems from a deep understanding of its own financial and operational capabilities, coupled with execution driven by a shared mission.

Agile Planning: Compressing the Strategic Cycle

We have witnessed hundreds of similar stories of businesses responding to pandemic challenges, and most follow the same process—a three-step approach familiar to any CFO:

1. Conduct scenario analysis and update the company vision;
2. Translate the vision into an action plan through strategic planning;
3. Execute the plan as a team.

The real difference lies in pace. Most companies run this framework on an annual cycle: typically starting with vision refinement in the third quarter and not moving into execution until the next fiscal year. Bedford, however, completed all stages within weeks.

From my observations at Oracle NetSuite, I have seen breweries pivot to producing hand sanitizer, nonprofits going all out to feed and warm their communities, and apparel manufacturers switching to making masks. Some efforts brought in additional revenue, some were stopgap measures to "keep operations running and retain the team," and others were purely driven by moral duty. All cases show that spotting opportunities and acting decisively requires agility and boldness.

CFOs bear the heaviest burden in this process. On one hand, they must decisively manage financial operations; on the other, they must review new proposals from operations, HR, sales, and marketing departments.

Based on our observations, a clear playbook for CFOs is emerging.

Vision Analysis: Answering "Where Are We and What Will We Do"

Executives are asking: "Where are we now? What do we do next?" The answers will shape the vision. Many of our customers have expanded and evolved their visions. For example, swimwear manufacturer Dippin' Daisy's used its existing fabrics to produce masks, offsetting canceled wholesale orders, and this move helped the brand retain most of its employees.

Strategic Planning: Reviewing the Financial and Operational Landscape

After assessing vision, talent, and mission, organizations revisit their strategic and financial plans. This involves not only a rigorous review of operations but also comprehensive health, safety, and legal checks. CFOs are at the core of this process—they need to continuously assess how well the vision aligns with factors such as employment and consumer spending. In April, rising consumer savings and falling credit card debt led many to expect a "U"-shaped recovery; then May's employment report far exceeded expectations, prompting speculation of a "V" shape. Such rapidly changing macroeconomic conditions will directly drive strategy, requiring CFOs to build models and design scenarios for multiple possible outcomes.

Best practices include rolling forward on 30/60/90-day cycles, supplemented by weekly stand-up meetings to review key metrics. Questions to ask: What are the trends? Are we deviating from the most likely scenario? Are employees healthy and engaged? If you had a core set of KPIs, you likely need to add new dimensions now. Unit profit margins have become significantly more important—products that were slightly profitable in January can easily slip into losses now. Customer acquisition costs may rise, and supply chain volatility, overhead, and raw material costs are also under pressure. Tracking workforce metrics has always been important, but it is now even more critical to establish and measure KPIs around employee advancement that reflect diversity and inclusion goals.

Execution: Aligning Strategy with Implementation

Uncertainty around cash runway and operating expense allocation requires CFOs to precisely align strategy with subsequent execution. The cadence of regularly assessing KPIs is crucial. We typically measure performance by business unit, product line, department, geography, or net financial metrics. Companies pivoting from B2B to B2C may find that customer acquisition and retention are more difficult and costly than before, so they need to closely monitor marketing spend and retention rates. The timeliness of messaging is now extremely critical. Pricing discipline is equally important—rather than steep discounts, bundle value-added services. On the operational side, ongoing supply chain volatility creates uncertainty. Many of our customers are exploring how to enhance supply chain resilience, whether by finding alternative suppliers or improving demand forecasting and inventory management.

Different industries are restarting at varying paces in domestic and international markets—for example, TOV Furniture's sales initially declined but by mid-April had grown 200% year-over-year. Sea To Table, which specializes in sustainable seafood, saw its direct-to-consumer sales surge by up to 1,000% as people cooked more at home.

Ultimately, when navigating current uncertainty, what I have learned from financial experts who excel at managing change is to always focus on three key points:

Visibility

Maintain visibility into key metrics and performance indicators, but embrace ambiguity. Any good framework should accommodate uncertainty and risk. Frameworks that do not allow for deviation often fall into analysis paralysis. The pursuit of perfection is admirable, but many never reach it—there is always a flaw to find, an "if" not considered. Hopefully that is not your reality, but the speed of decision-making and the unique circumstances of the pandemic mean your tolerance for risk will likely need to increase.

Control

Monitor metrics so you can implement necessary controls. Part of managing uncertainty is continuously asking: Are these strategies and executions moving us toward our vision? Most companies we work with start by questioning and challenging existing assumptions. Ensure you have set up the adjustment knobs so you can dial the business up or down as circumstances dictate.

Agility

As companies revisit each of the above points, you will face the challenge of staying the course. With the right visibility and control, you will be able to navigate change and make necessary adjustments across all levels of the business. Executives at custom menswear retailer Alton Lane spent countless late nights designing how to replicate the brand's one-on-one in-store consultations in a remote environment, ultimately launching virtual appointments and "Wardrobe Review" services that helped boost declining sales. Agility is not just about making quick decisions; it is the result of thorough preparation—ensuring you have the option space to act quickly.

The customer is the North Star, and the CFO is the compass. Aligning the organization to meet customer needs is everyone's responsibility, and today's CFOs are playing an increasingly important role in translating vision into strategy and executing it. As long as you have visibility, control, and agility, you can take action and win.