In The Hard Thing About Hard Things, Ben Horowitz tells a story about how he handled a delicate situation when he was five years old. He says it shaped his life. “It taught me that being scared didn’t mean I was gutless. What I did mattered and would determine whether I would be a hero or a coward.”
The COVID-19 outbreak is one of those defining moments. Ask yourself – are you a coward or a hero? The good news is if you don’t like the answer, you can take action to change.
“Every time you make the hard, correct decision you become a bit more courageous and every time you make the easy, wrong decision you become a bit more cowardly. If you are a CEO, these choices will lead you to a courageous or cowardly company.”
Ask yourself these questions:
How do you respond to threats?
A hero is fearless, composed and proactive.
- Fearless – Looks for, recognizes and acknowledges threats from the inside and the outside
- Composed – Defines the threat and distills the response into smaller parts that are easier to understand and actionable
- Proactive – Takes “no regrets” actions to mitigate threats and strengthen the company for the long haul
A coward says, “Our product is better than these new lower-priced competitors. We don’t need to worry.”
A hero says, “Our products may be better, but we’re seeing sales slippage since these cheaper alternatives entered the market. We need to understand what our customers think about the tradeoffs and how it changes our response.”
“There comes a time in every company’s life where it must fight for its life. If you find yourself running when you should be fighting, you need to ask yourself, “If our company isn’t good enough to win, then do we need to exist at all?”
How do you communicate with your teams?
A hero is authoritative, honest and hopeful.
- Authoritative – Provides clear direction, even in times of uncertainty
- Honest – Admits what they don’t know, anchoring on what they do know and control and providing honest performance feedback
- Hopeful – Always builds a bridge from the current state to a brighter future
A coward says, “I have no idea what will happen after our PPP funding period ends.”
A hero says, “I’m not sure what will happen after our PPP funding period ends, but I’m doing everything in my power to make sure we can continue to operate. And I know the rest of you are doing your best, as well.”
“Can the leader articulate a vision that’s interesting, dynamic and compelling? More important, can the leader do this when things fall apart? More specifically, when the company gets to a point when it does not make financial sense for any employee to continue working there, will the leader be able to articulate a vision that’s compelling enough to make people stay?”
How do you engage with your customers?
A hero is open, accountable and adaptable.
- Open – Listens to customers and understands how the current situation impacts their life or business
- Accountable – Lives up to promises, doesn’t make promises they can’t keep and immediately notifies customers of issues
- Adaptable – Looks for ways to feasibly address customer needs, increasing opportunities and loyalty
A coward says, “I’m too busy trying to solve our quality and delivery issues to listen to more complaints from customers.”
A hero says, “I will personally meet with our top customers to hear their concerns and let them know what we’re doing to solve the problem.”
Everybody faces challenges sometimes. The way you choose to navigate your challenges will define your customer relationships for years to come. Don’t mess it up.
How do you invest your time?
A hero is focused, disciplined and flexible.
- Focused – Understands the fundamentals of the business and focuses on what is most important to get right in the moment
- Disciplined – Understands the big picture and sees most of the challenges that are looming, but doesn’t get distracted or overwhelmed
- Flexible – Learns from experience and knows when to refine the company’s fundamentals
A coward says, “I don’t have time to think about the future because I’m too busy putting out fires.”
A hero says, “In a crisis, the most important thing I can do is ensure we are focused on the things that will determine our fate and eliminate as many distractions as possible for my team.”
Time is money. And in organizations, poor time management has exponential negative impacts on the business. If the leader is focused on the wrong stuff or overwhelmed, so will the team. Now more than ever, companies need heroes to keep everyone focused and aligned. If you’re not sure what to do, narrow your team’s focus to core functions while you consider alternatives and gather more information.
So…are you a coward or a hero? Being a leader is hard work. And especially in times of crisis, it can be lonely work. It’s not always easy to muster the courage to be a hero, but we all have it in us. enlight can help you stay focused or correct course…contact us.
