Staying Strong In A Crisis
Business crisis, family crisis, personal crisis – no matter who I am or how blessed a life I’ve led to this point, I will face a crisis sooner or later. How I respond in a crisis says a lot about who I am as a person and a leader.
Do I run from a challenge or towards one? Do I act selfishly or selflessly? Do I disappoint others or do I lead them?
In other words, do I come through the crisis weaker or stronger?
I believe there is one key factor that allows organizations, families and individuals to stay strong during a crisis. The key is knowing what I believe in. What do I value above all else?
“You have to know what you believe BEFORE you get in the moment.”
-Ross Strader, Pastor/Friend
It’s Too Late – The Storm Is Here
You just got notification of a lawsuit brought against you and your business.
Or
Your teenage son just arrived in the ER with alcohol poisoning.
Or
Your spouse just packed his/her bag and said you both needed a break.
This is not the moment to decide what you believe in.
In the midst of competing thoughts, the swirl of information and the heart pounding anxiety, it is the wrong time to try to decide what is most important. It is too late to begin deciding what you believe.
“The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.”
-John F. Kennedy
The Right Time – Before The Storm Hits
What are the values we believe in as a company? What are the values we believe in as a family? What are the values I believe in as an individual?
When the days are calm and the sun is shining is the right time to decide what I believe in. Knowing I have built my company, my family or my life on a foundation of stone instead of on sand will help me stand strong in a storm.
If I have not spent time thinking through what I believe, I am unlikely to react well in a crisis. What I believe in is the bedrock that will determine my strength in a crisis. What does this bedrock, this foundation of stone look like?
Here are some examples:
In Business
- Integrity
- Teamwork
- Service
- Leadership
- Respect
- Excellence
In Families and Individuals
- Faith
- Integrity
- Forgiveness
- Family
- Selflessness
- Humility
Now What?
Just saying I believe in something is not enough to prepare me for a crisis. I must begin to build upon those things I claim to value. Another term for this is character development.
Character development follows these steps:
Character begins with my thoughts: What am I reading? What am I filling my head with?
Thoughts become my words: Do we communicate our beliefs/values to our team/our families? Do I spend time talking with people who believe what I believe?
Words become my actions: The more we speak about what we believe in, the more likely we are to act that way.
Actions repeated become habits: Each time we decide to take action, the easier it becomes to make that decision again.
Habits form our character: HOW we are is WHO we are!
If we are not in the habit of behaving in line with what we claim to value during the good times, it is highly unlikely we will behave that way during a crisis.
To read more about Values click on the following title:
The Bottom Line:
Crisis management is a vogue term in board rooms, business magazines and MBA programs. But crisis management often focuses on tactics in the midst of crisis versus developing a strong foundation that will keep me strong in the storm.
Some crisis’s have an origin that we have no control over. Circumstances in business, families and personally can knock the air out of our lungs. How will we behave? Do we know what we believe? What do we value?
I believe the key to staying strong in a crisis is being sure of what I believe. When I can’t breathe and am unsure of my next step, knowing what I believe will allow me to stand up to the storm and walk out of it stronger than when I walked in.
Question:
Are your values prepared for the storms to come?