“THESE are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”
Thomas Paine, The Crisis
Be visible, purposeful, and authentic
Communicate in ways that engage and increase the relevance of your teams and clarify the reasons underlying your communications
Use multiple clock-speeds
Think on multiple timescales by considering the now, the next, and the later. Ensure that leadership teams look ahead and prepare for the future
Cut through bureaucracy
Assemble a multi-functional task force that is empowered to make decisions and suspend normal decision protocols
Leverage the principle of “commander’s intent”
Share only key objectives and rationale of required actions to allow the organization to be flexible and adaptive, and allow a focus on execution
Engage externally
Communicate with customers and stakeholders to gather frequent, fresh, firsthand information to adapt and respond effectively
Keep imagination alive
Look out for new needs and opportunities to serve clients now and beyond the crisis. We will not be reverting to a 2019 reality