#3 TAKE THE LEAD In times of crisis, the executive team must be visible and set an example. So if your message to the organisation is that the customers come first now, then you need to spend 80% of your own time with your customers. And if your message is that now is the time for reducing costs, then you need to do as the executive team did in SAS and begin by taking the first pay cut yourself. Walk the talk! #4 ANFOTRIUCDISPEATE Being a leader is very much about being one step ahead of the rest. Of being able to anticipate what is coming. So sit down with a cup of coffee, a blank sheet of paper – and think! What is likely to happen in two weeks? Across your business. How are your customers likely to react, and how will your competitors respond? What will happen with your supply chain? And so on and so forth. Do it systematically. In the short, medium (and maybe also the long) term. You need to draw the chart to navigate from in the coming months. You need your navigational chart to explain to your employees why you should act as you have decided and to ensure that the business has a shared perception of reality. #5 MAKE A PLAN Once you have prepared your navigational chart, you need to decide which course to take. Or in other words: You need to prepare a plan for handling the challenges you are anticipating in the future. And the actions can be many. Think once more across the business. Again both in the short, medium and long term. The purpose of the plan is to offer security. And the plan should help ensure that your business gets through this phase in the best way possible. Some may argue that you cannot really plan for anything in this dynamic reality. And yes, your planning does need to be dynamic. But as General (later President) Eisenhower said: ”Plans are nothing – but planning is everything.” It is the process of sitting down and thinking ahead in a structured manner that adds value. 3
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