Any success is the result of our behaviours, which, in turn is governed by attitude. Attitude starts in the mind, so getting our thinking right is crucial. The Standard Bank Summit online discussion, in partnership with Business Day, put the spotlight on how an entrepreneurial mindset is able to turn crisis into opportunity.

The first discussion of the 2021 Standard Bank SME Summit online series with business growth expert Pavlo Phitidis, focused on getting business owners into the right headspace to take control in an uncertain world. The panellists shared accounts of how they have managed to rebound in unpredictable times, leveraged crisis to move to a mindset of innovation and resilience rewired their thinking to embrace rather than resist uncertainty and change, and how they have successfully managed to move forward with renewed clarity, energy and vigour.

Kung Fu master, Si Fu Marco, provided valuable insights into how the human body instinctively reacts to crisis with a fight or flight response. He explained that when you are faced with a shock it can be easy to make the wrong decisions. “You have a choice; you can either run away or deal with the situation.” He continued by saying that in martial arts “You have to take a hit in order to give a hit.” In preparing for a mental “reset”, he advised quietening the mind because it’s only when you are in control that you are able to lead your way out of a crisis.

Veterinarian Dr Joubert Viljoen, revealed how he had to reassess his life after a serious motor bike accident. He had a dream of working with animals and worked to open up a veterinary clinic, which was a thriving and busy practice. After being in a motorbike accident, and encountering a near death experience, his life changed forever. “It was a scary time, because I had two small children at home, a work from home wife and my fellow vets had plans to immigrate. We lost over 4000 patient visits in those three years”, he elaborated.

After battling more complications, Dr Viljoen accepted that he could no longer practice as a vet any longer and started an IT software development company. “My first love was always my animal hospital and realising I couldn’t live my dream the way that I wanted to by personally being involved in the lives of people and animals so I decided to create an environment for the vets that worked with me by creating software that took care of the admin side of things, while they focused on the veterinary side of things.” The big take-outs from Viljoen were that necessity is a good motivator and that a vision is all-powerful. His account also emphasised the need to draw on those around you.

Zipho Sikhakhane, a business strategist and CEO of EMZ Advisory, discussed her background and how she was raised to be resilient. An MBA graduate of Stanford University, she said the best education in the world is not as important as the ability to be resilient. The lessons from Sikhakhane were that it’s important to work with what you’ve got and to learn from the people around you.  “I grew up with strong women who had gone through significant struggles and they gave me tools to become an individual who has broken the bars and through the ceilings and have made it to the other side.”

Phitidis pointed out that “A strong vision with the right attitude changes the behaviour of us all, it’s the beginning of all our greatest successes.” So once we have the vision, what’s the next challenge? That is time


Adam Gottlich, head of Behavioural Science at Standard Bank Client Solutions, discussed the relationship with time. “As humans we have a survival instinct that says I need to prioritise today because I don’t know what tomorrow holds. We need to understand how we view time vs how we view ourselves in time. When it comes to time, we prefer a tangible reality over an intangible one and as a result of this, time as opposed to currency, feels abstract, when in fact as the saying goes, “time is money.” So how we view ourselves in time? We need to understand that time is an abstract concept that changes us all.”

Ultimately, success is an attitude which puts you in full control. Entrepreneurs need to begin with the end in mind and define what success looks like. They need to have a plan and be purposeful in how they enact that plan. Finally, they need to be authentic, make good use of their time and lead their business rather than allow it to lead them.

So now that you’ve got your mindset right, you are ready to act.

If you enjoyed part one of this series, register here for part two of the Standard Bank SME Summit on the 23rd of June, where we explore how to reset your business, to win.