Why Today’s Leaders Must Assume Continuous Discontinuity (Part 2)
Last month, we discussed how unpredictable factors, both big and small, can shred even the best-laid organizational plans. To demonstrate this challenge, we examined a host of common events that can throw business predictions, projections, and processes into total disarray, including:
Sudden economic downturns such as market crashes, recessions, etc.
Natural disasters including hurricanes, earthquakes, tornados, and floods that can disrupt infrastructure and supply chains for weeks and even months.
Tax and regulation changes that can significantly alter your compliance requirements and long-term profitability.
Data breaches resulting in everything from theft of intellectual property to a total loss of your company’s financial records.
Lawsuits that either end in costly settlements or simply drain assets through the mere cost of litigation.
The loss of a major client/customer depriving a corporation of significant income.
Death of a principal for which the company is not prepared.
In a related point, you may have heard the Chinese character for “crisis” also means “opportunity.” This actually isn’t true. The legend was started by then-Senator John F. Kennedy during his 1960 Presidential campaign and has been repeated ad nauseum ever since. Still, the sentiment behind it is valid. Crises can force a company to shore up weaknesses and consider heretofore unexplored growth avenues.
As one who has studied business operations for years, I have learned that more than anything else, attitude makes all the difference between whether an organization survives a proverbial “meteor strike” or it shatters under impact. A culture that’s sure of its purpose, firm in its intentions, yet flexible in its methodologies has a much higher chance of adapting to sudden change than one that is directionless, reacting to the present moment, and/or rigid in its operational orthodoxies.
Knowing this reality, here are helpful ways you as a business leader can better prepare yourself and your organization to cope with sudden and disruptive shifts, regardless of their form or source:
Accept that change is inevitable…and welcome it. It’s been said the only thing we can all count on is change. That has certainly been the case since the onset of the Industrial Revolution some 300 years ago, and the pace of change has only continued to accelerate since then. In the 21st century, startup companies like to cast themselves as “disrupters” with products, services, and ideas that will shatter the status quo. To succeed in such a volatile environment, it’s necessary to not only accept the inevitability of change—but to welcome it as an opportunity to create new products, find markets, increase internal efficiencies, and ultimately, generate more profits.
Accept change is hard. Many people like to look at business as a purely rational game of dollars and cents, credits and debits, and ones and zeroes. Instead, business is often a very emotional pageant rich in passions, egos, and the expression of elemental appetites. A major loss may be akin to a death, accompanied by the classic Kubler-Ross 5 Stages of Grief: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance. However, for a business to recover and even prosper after such a loss, these stages must be followed by three more: Experimentation, Decision, and Integration. As a savvy business leader, acknowledge and show empathy for those emotionally impacted by sudden change, then give your people the freedom to find the best ways to deal with the new reality. Determine which solutions work best, then integrate these new methods into your business model. As Darwin taught us, when environment changes, the winning species are not necessarily the physically strongest, but rather, those most capable of quick and successful adaptation.
Understand fast is better than perfect. In a crisis, it’s more critical to have an immediate solution than the ideal one. When walls start crumbling and the barbarians are at the gate, gather your best minds, brainstorm possible responses, and then, with bold clarity, decide and act. Your first response may not be comprehensive. (In fact, it probably won’t be.) Additional decisions and actions may be needed to address unexpected consequences. (They probably will be.) But survival is priority one, and a quick solution, however messy, is always better than a perfect one that arrives too late. Remember Apollo 13, the 1995 movie, if not the actual 1970 space mission? A catastrophic explosion on the service module imperiled not only the success of the lunar mission, but the lives of the three astronauts onboard. Thinking fast and literally using repurposed parts and duct tape, NASA returned the men to earth alive and well. That real life of example of under-pressure brainstorming and bold decision-making should be the model for any leader facing a sudden crisis.
Communicate clearly. Clear, consistent communication is essential to effective crisis management. Even before problems arise, you should establish helpful lines of communication within your organization, both up and down the chain of command. Communications should also be regular and ongoing so that when a crisis hits, everyone knows who to turn to and who is responsible for which decisions.
Use your time wisely in a crisis. Be clear about which situations require you to stand back, be all-in, or to simply monitor. You may have to be less involved in some situations and some decisions and very involved in others. Also, determining the specific time allocation may look different in a time of crisis than it normally does.
Ultimately, the best way to deal with a business crisis is to prepare your organization for such an event well in advance. I can help in this regard. As a veteran corporate culture and leadership expert, I can help leaders become the people they need to be—before and after a crisis hits. And it all begins by contacting me at laura@conoverconsulting.com. Because no one likes surprises!