Lessons Learned: Crisis As Opportunity (2009) by Fifty Lessons Limited
Small book, compact wisdom. I'm currently reading the commentaries of the
Epistles of Paul, but in between, I thought I want to read something different.
So this book from Lessons Learned series
was a good choice and I love it. It only takes one sitting to finish it but a
whole night to process what I've read. Crisis
As Opportunity compiled the stories of accomplished leaders from around the
world on how they tackled their toughest challenges. "If you could eliminate doubt and move boldly ahead with confidence
knowing that you were facing the best opportunity of your lifetime, would you
do it?" asked Mark Thompson, co-author of Success Built to Last, in his forward. All 14 contributors from
this book say, "Yes." Let me summaries:
Lesson #1 Never Waste a Good Crisis by Giam Swiegers, CEO, Deloitte Australia. "You've been put into a leadership role for a
reason. You are going to face difficult things. Don't get yourself and your
team paralyzed. Face up to reality, decide what to do, and spot the
opportunities. They're always there." A leader's perspective on
difficult situations can mean the difference between communicating opportunity
and communicating paralysis to an organization.
Lesson #2 Be Alert to New Opportunities by J. W. Marriott Jr., chairman and CEO, Marriott
International. "We are constantly
searching for opportunities. I think as you search for opportunities, and as
you study what's going on in your industry and you learn what's happening, you
see targets of opportunity out there that are very appealing to you. And when
one comes along, you have to grab it, you have to move on it."
Lesson #3 A Counterintuitive Downturn Strategy by Anders Dahlvig, group president and CEO, IKEA
Services. "If you have an offensive
strategy in a downturn as we have, it is an opportunity to distance yourself
from your competition." In short, counterintuitively, a well-planned
growth strategy can distance you from the competition during an economic
downturn. In a time of crisis, a strategy is key.
Lesson #4 Playing a Poor Hand Well by Mary Cantando, founder of WomanBusinessOwner.com.
"It's easy to play a good hand, but
a true master can play a poor hand well. I find that if you can look for the
good in a bad situation, it positions you to play a poor hand well."
One more thing that I learned from this chapter is that leaders are responsible
for their power to impact people beyond their working lives.
Lesson #5 Customer Dissatisfaction Is a Great
Opportunity by David Bell, Chairman
Emeritus, The Interpublic Group. "Anytime
there is a lack of customer satisfaction, there is an enormous opportunity to
create loyalty by exactly what you do with the disruption." In short,
customer dissatisfaction is a prime opportunity for improving customer service
(story told by David is very interesting).
Lesson #6 Embracing Conflict by Richard Pascale, Associate Fellow, Said Business
School, Oxford University. "[Conflict-embracers] saw the conflict as a source of renewal and a valuable asset to an
organization, a kind of fuel. And their skill in dealing with conflict and
teasing it out, making use of it rather than gliding over it, was something to
behold. It was a huge wake-up call for me." all organizations contain
hidden tensions that, if identified and embraced, can be a powerful catalyst
for forwarding momentum.
Lesson #7 Change Is Good by David Brandon, chairman and CEO, Domino's Pizza.
"We tend to resist change because
often change creates problems that require solutions, and somethings those
solutions require a lot of extra work… as a leader the way that you can best
prepare your organization is to transform their thinking and put them in a
mindset that makes them want to embrace change."
Lesson #8 Leadership Is Not a Popularity Contest by Sanjiv Ahuja, chairman, Orange UK. "For all leaders in all situations, you have
to make the tough calls; but stand up for those and be counted. Don't shy away,
and don't get confused between popularity and the right choices. Right choices
and popularity do not have to go hand in hand." Eventually, all of us
will want to follow a leader who is effective, decisive and passionate.
Lesson #9 Having the Courage of Your Convictions by Amelia Fawcett, chairman, Pensions First. Almost
similar to lesson #8, the ability to make decisions is truly tested when those
decisions are difficult, unpopular and subject to criticism. This requires
courage and the belief that your decision is the right one.
Lesson #10 The Counterintuitive Strategy by William Johnson, chairman, president and CEO, H.J.
Heinz Company. When in crisis, "the
best thing to do for the company would be to shrink the company – to get
smaller to get bigger, to get smaller to get better and to get smaller to be
more nimble… before you get bigger, you have to get better." In
embarking to this counterintuitive strategy, you should "overcommunicate your plan" to
others – important people – who may not understand its benefits.
Lesson #11 Creating a Common Language for a New
Course of Action by Clayton
Christensen, Robert and Jane Cizik Professor of Business Administration,
Harvard Business School. To implement a new course of action effectively, as a
leader, give your people or team a common language and a common understanding
of the root issue you intend to address, "which allows consensus to simply coalesce." A company can
generate a significant profit from "exploring
ideas for new business from within."
Lesson #12 Finding Solutions for a Successful
Turnaround by Paul Anderson,
chairman, Spectra Energy. When you approach a new situation, don't think you
have all the answers. One person's knowledge is no match against the entire
organization's knowledge put together. "As a leader, your job is to extract organizational knowledge and
synthesize what's of value into a strategy that you enable others to implement
and execute."
Lesson #13 Being Honest Prevents Failure and
Amplifies Opportunity by Robin Chase,
founder and former CEO, Zipcar. "I
think companies must think of themselves as learning companies. And as part of
that concept, each one of us has to have, what I consider to be, intellectual
honesty. We need to be able to look at any decision we've made or any of our
weaknesses, and address them."
Lesson #14 Involving Customers in the Change Process by Ken Freeman, former chairman and CEO, Quest
Diagnostics. "Employee satisfaction
yields customer satisfaction; and customer satisfaction, in the end, yields
shareholder satisfaction." Leaders must act inventively to reach their
employees and articulate a vision that encourages their active participation in
customer-focused change.
As a leader, a crisis is
either an opportunity or a stumbling block; it will change you or break you; it
will make you better or show your incompetence. I love this quote by Giam
Swiegers, "Never waste a good
crisis!"
One book that I would like to recommend on this topic is Turning
Adversity Into Opportunity (2014) by Kouzes and Posner. CLICK HERE to read my review
THINK BIG.
START SMALL. GO DEEP.
