Navigating A Roller-Coaster of Change

The onslaught of rapid change and directional shifts mandated by the US government has far-reaching impact for domestic and global businesses. Further, numerous factors have systemic implications, not unlike what we all experienced during the coronavirus pandemic.

And more change is likely on its way.

Fortunately, in the last 5 years, leaders have learned a lot about navigating systemic crisis situations. Many of those lessons are particularly relevant – and useful – for navigating a roller-coaster of change. For example:

1) Rapid diagnosis is key. 

While a crisis-response mindset may help initially – for communicating, instituting different protocols, shifting work – it’s typically not an appropriate long-term approach. Its intensity alone is unsustainable.

The less you know about a difficult, emergent situation, the more important it is to discern what’s really going on and its real and potential impacts - quickly. Rapid diagnosis is key. It puts your business in the best possible position to manage a crisis successfully.

Necessity drove us all to figure it out during the pandemic. In this regard, today's situation is no different.

• Which previous insights or lessons learned will serve you well now? 

• How will you deploy this learning to chart the course today?

2) Assess the levels of impact.

In the flurry of Executive Orders (and reorders!), I’m seeing decisions that seemingly "cut off the nose to spite the face" – both from the US administration and those impacted by the orders. Executives often cite "circumstances" as the rationale and simply react. They don’t take a beat to think through the issues in a structured, measured way. 

This is a mistake, one that can be quite costly.

Whether the company is facing rapid change, a crisis, or the cacophony that each often produces, it’s difficult for CEOs to have a clear line of sight about what’s going on. This visibility is critical for making strategy work. Executives must assess the levels of impact to determine the nature of possible adjustments and the urgency of their response.

• Do the changes signal a disruption to your business or are they a distraction?

• How deep or broad are the impacts?

3) Mitigation is not enough.

Managing risk is always important. Leaders proactively scan the landscape noticing the warning signs and developing mitigation strategies. Yet, mitigation is not enough. Even at the height of the pandemic – when so many were taking refuge in home “bunkers” – the most successful businesses instead looked for the opportunities. They invested proactively – including in their people. Skilled leaders ask:

• What will make a difference today and have the greatest potential for positive impact in the future?

Armed with lessons learned from past experience, the executives I advise dive deeper. They diagnosis the situation, discerning the nature and level of the impacts to know what’s most needed and how quickly. This allows them to deal with the current issues.

Embracing a forward-thinking mindset, savvy CEOs also make the adjustments needed to thrive in the uproar – not just for today, but for the long term.