NATE FELTMAN: ‘Never let a crisis go to waste’

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill is said to have uttered the phrase, “Never let a crisis go to waste,” near the end of World War II as the Allies were working out the new world order. More recently, Rahm Emanuel, then chief of staff to President Obama, famously uttered the phrase in 2008 in the midst of the financial crisis.

The implication is that a crisis, by its very nature, provides an opportunity to accomplish goals that might otherwise prove difficult or impossible to achieve.

The COVID-19 crisis is more devastating than the previous purely economic ones, due to the health impact and the government-forced shutdown of our economy and way of life. Its severity and uniqueness will have long-lasting implications for how business is conducted and, therefore, how leaders must adjust their strategies.

In a more typical downturn, business leaders tend to make decisions that, in many cases, should have already been made. When the economy is humming and the business is performing well, it is easy to get complacent and not pursue new ideas, new products or new services.

The poorly performing business unit that continues to struggle can be overlooked since other units are performing well. The employee who should be replaced for poor performance is ignored rather than identifying new talent who might reinvigorate the firm. Belt-tightening tends to focus priorities and motivate action.

But this crisis is different. Its unique nature provides an opportunity to completely rethink business strategies around innovation, communication and work environment.

◗ Innovation: How does your company develop ideas for products and services? Whatever your strategy, it now needs tweaking. Collaboration and ideation will not occur the same way now as before the crisis. And business will not be conducted the same way it was two months ago. Customers will consume differently.

Those companies that can be nimble and quickly develop new products that adapt to the changing consumption patterns of the consumer will be the winners. If you do not have a strong online and digital presence, you will have to quickly play catch-up.

◗ Communication: If your company didn’t have strong internal and external communication before the crisis, you now know it. Isolated employees are craving information about their employer’s plan for the future at a time their anxiety levels are going through the roof. Your customers are trying to figure out when they can come back to you and whether your company will still be there when the shutdown finally ends. A clear and transparent communication plan that takes advantage of all technology channels is essential.

◗ Flexible work: Almost every business has had to adopt a remote-working strategy. As a result, most firms will never work the same. Although Zoom meetings have their problems, they also offer efficiency and communication advantages that successful businesses will keep.

While some companies already had remote-working strategies, now every company will need to evaluate each position and department to find the right balance of remote and in-office working. The efficiency and employee satisfaction issues are too big to ignore.

Naturally, business leaders are focused on the short-term decisions that must be made to ensure survival. However, leaders who are also able to view the current crisis as an opportunity to enact transformational change will better position their companies for long-term success.

Churchill famously quipped: “An optimist sees an opportunity in every calamity; a pessimist sees a calamity in every opportunity.” Are you an optimist?•

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Feltman is CEO of IBJ Media and a shareholder in the company. To comment on this column, send email to nfeltman@ibj.com.