Lessons Learned from Recent Business Crises

5 years ago our company almost died. In the span of a month, we lost nearly 70% of our revenue, as global air travel slowed to a trickle. Many companies in our sector did not make it. Here is how we survived . . . and hopefully some tips for other entrepreneurs in the future facing crises. 1). Know what matters most - and what drives it . . . Beyond taking care of our employees (which I discussed last week), what mattered most for the company was preserving cash. Within the first week of lockdown, I put together a very high level driver tree outlining the primary levers to preserve our cash. Many folks I speak with are worried that such an exercise is not going to be 100% correct, or that they can't estimate accurately the specific values of each bucket. That's not the point. I put together the "high level plan" knowing that while I probably missed a few things, I had roughly 80% of the levers correct. In a crises, this was good enough to get started. 2). Cut quickly and strategically Once we had a plan on paper, we had to move fast. Every day that we did not, we were burning precious cash and further jeopardizing our future. We identified our largest cost buckets, and set a savings goal. This did absolutely mean some very tough decisions with respect to a few team members, but we handled those consistent with our values and did not leave the individuals impacted in limbo. 3). Even in the darkest crises, opportunities may exist While our traditional business - a post-booking RM platform relying on high demand - was extremely challenged during the start of the pandemic, we kept our eyes and ears open to new opportunities with our existing customers. We tried to find ways that they could repurpose existing products for the current challenges that they faced. We also worked with them to solve new challenges brought on by the COVID disruption. Being flexible in this manner kept revenue flowing - revenue that would be vital to the survival of our company. 4). Do the legwork to get help. We benefitted from small business assistance programs set up by the US Government - without these we might not have survived. Holden C. deserves a ton of credit for pulling together all the PPP paperwork and dealing with the banks to get these applications in on time 5). Plan for the future We understood the dangers of focusing too much of our efforts on present-day survival. We dedicated a portion of our time preparing for the "post-Pandemic" world, thinking through how our tech stack could be most relevant. This strategy worked. We not only survived, but closed our Series A during the pandemic. Today the company is multiples larger than we were even at our peak pre-pandemic. COVID nearly killed us. All entrepreneurs will face existential crises during their journeys. Before going into "reaction mode", take a moment to plot your strategy. Then get to work. #entrepreneurship

In 2011, the Amazon Appstore failed on launch and Jeff Bezos was furious. It was my fault, and I handled one aspect of recovery so poorly that one of my engineers quit. I still regret it 14 years later. Please learn from my mistake. The main lesson is that when you are leading through a crisis, it can feel like it is all about you. It isn’t. It is about: 1) Solving the problem 2) Guiding your team through it The product issue was that there were some pretty simple bugs, and we solved those problem well enough that I was eventually promoted. Where I failed was in guiding my team through the crisis. My leadership miss was that I neglected to encourage and support the engineer who had written the bad code. He did a great job stepping up and supporting the effort to fix the problem, but shortly afterward, he resigned. During the crisis, I failed to make clear to him that we did not blame him for the launch failure despite the bugs. I imagine that left room for him to think we blamed him or that he didn’t belong. It is also possible that others did blame him directly and that I was too caught up in the crisis to realize it. Both instances were my responsibility as the leader of the team. His resignation taught me a valuable lesson about leading through a crisis: No matter how bad the situation is, your team must be your first priority. If you make them feel safe, they will move heaven and earth to fix the problem. If you don’t, they may still fix the problem, but the team itself will never be the same. As a leader, here is how you can give them what they need: 1) Take the blame and do not allow others to be blamed. In some bug cases after this we did not release the name of the engineer outside the team in order to protect them from judgment or blame. 2) Separate fixing the problem from figuring out why it happened. Once the problem is fixed, you can focus on root-causing. This lowers the risk of searching for answers getting confused with searching for someone to blame. 3) Realize that anyone involved in the problem already feels bad. High performers know when they have fallen short and let their team down. As a leader you have to show them the path to growth and success after the crisis. They do not need to be beaten up on- they have taken care of that themselves. 4) See crises and problems as growth opportunities, not personal flaws. Your team comes with you in a crisis whether you like it or not, so you might as well come out stronger on the other side. As a leader, the responsibility for a crisis is yours in two ways: The problem itself and the effect it has on the future of the team. Don’t get too caught up in the first to think about the second. Readers- Has your team survived a crisis? How did you handle it?

It’s 1am and my brain is vibrating at a very high frequency. The next few months are critical for businesses. We’re witnessing global wars, mass layoffs, and a post-AI world where rules are evolving very fast. Everything is shifting ... economies, industries, even identities. Sentiments are unpredictable. And evolution... it’s happening faster than we were ever warned. In moments like this, survival in business comes down to three things: 1. How resilient you are 2. How adaptable your business is 3. And then... pure, blind luck I’ve spent 14 years building through storms. Markets crashed. Partners walked away. Plans fell apart. Teams broke. But here we are ... still building, still dreaming, still growing. Every time we went through something major, I took notes. And today, I want to share the guide I wish I had during my hardest days, in the hope it helps someone out there who needs it now: 1. Embrace change and uncertainty It’s coming, whether you like it or not. Revenues will dip. People will disappoint. Strategies will collapse. Don’t fight the pain — walk with it. Let it sharpen your senses. It always has something to teach you. 2. Cut fast, but with empathy Speed saves lives in a crisis, but souls matter. When you make hard decisions — layoffs, pivots, shutdowns — do it with clarity, not cruelty. People may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel. 3. Stay uncomfortably close to your customer Your customers are evolving in real time. If you are not listening daily, you are falling behind. Talk to them. Watch them. Let their reality shape your decisions. 4. Don’t worship your past victories What worked last year might bury you this year. Ego is expensive in uncertain markets. Stay humble. Stay hungry. Let go of what no longer serves the future. 5. Focus on energy, not just strategy Your team mirrors your emotional state. If you panic, they will crumble. If you go numb, they will disengage. Be honest, be present, but above all, be steady. Energy is the invisible strategy that holds it all together. 6. Build faith in something bigger When numbers stop making sense and logic hits a wall, you need something deeper ... a belief, a cause, a reason to keep going. Call it purpose. Call it God. Call it madness. Just don’t run on empty. I don’t know how the next few months will unfold. No one does. But I do know this — the ones who feel deeply, move boldly, and love fiercely through the storm are the ones who build companies that outlive the chaos. My company stands more stable than ever today, but I haven’t forgotten the nights I sat up, just like this. So if you are awake at 1am too ... anxious, tired, and unsure — know this: we have lived through darkness to see the light, and you will too. Good days are around the corner. Let’s survive this. Let’s grow through this. Let’s make it mean something!

Global markets are volatile. Recession fears, cost pressures, employment instability—uncertainty is high, and so is anxiety. Through my career I’ve led businesses through the Great Recession, the subprime mortgage collapse and banking crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, more than one liquidity crisis, and too many other smaller crises to list. Each moment tested not just the businesses I led, but my leadership. Here are my TOP 10 lessons learned for LEADING THROUGH VOLATILITY AND UNCERTAINTY for those leaders navigating turbulence today: 1. KEEP YOUR RELATIONSHIPS STRONG. You need your team, your customers, your partners—and they need to know you have their back. 2. COMMUNICATE. Uncertainty fuels rumors. Communication builds trust and enables action. Communicate clearly and frequently. It’s okay to let people know the things that you don’t know, but always let them know that you put them and the mission first. 3. MAINTAIN AND PRIORITIZE LONG-TERM GOALS. Resist the trap of short-term fear. The best decisions are made when we zoom out and detach from panic. This is a great opportunity to be very clear about what the real priorities are and to cut away the noise and distractions. 4. DECENTRALIZE COMMAND. In uncertain environments, speed and flexibility are survival skills. You can’t be everywhere or make every decision—so empower and unleash your leaders at every level. 5. DO THE HARD STUFF. None of this is easy, but leading your team to thrive in hard times is a great leadership challenge. It takes commitment, calm, balance, and self-discipline. 6. MAINTAIN MOMENTUM. In the face of uncertainty or fear, some people will freeze. Don’t. Keep moving. Some of your actions will be wrong. Learn from them and move again. You don’t have to get every decision right – you have to maintain momentum. 7. EMBRACE CHANGE. The goal isn’t to avoid change—it’s to leverage it. Leadership requires facing reality and finding ways to use it to your advantage. 8. DETACH FROM EMOTION. Fear clouds judgment. At Echelon Front we call detachment a “superpower” because it enables prioritization and good decisions under pressure. 9. STAY HEALTHY. Making time to keep yourself healthy and fit during times of uncertainty and change isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity. Sleep, eat well, and exercise to keep your body and mind strong and your stress under control. 10. OWN THE SITUATION. Don’t complain about the external environment—own it. That’s what Extreme Ownership means. You can’t control the weather, but you can steer the ship. In challenging times, leadership matters more than ever. Crises reveal cracks, but also potential. So don’t just lead your team to survive, lead them to thrive - you just might find that the storm transforms them to be faster, more nimble, more innovative, and more successful than ever. #leadership #extremeownership #decentralizedcommand #resilience #leadingthroughcrisis #volatility #echelonfront

Organizational Trauma: The Recovery Killer Your Change Plan Ignores After Capital One's 2019 data breach exposing 100 million customers' information, leadership rushed to transform: new security platforms, restructured teams, revised processes. Despite urgent implementation, adoption lagged, talent departed, and security improved more slowly than expected. What they discovered—and what I've observed repeatedly in financial services—is that organizations can experience collective trauma that fundamentally alters how they respond to change. 🪤 The Post-Crisis Change Trap When institutions experience significant disruption, standard change management often fails. McKinsey's research shows companies applying standard OCM to traumatized workforces see only 23% transformation success, compared to 64% for those using trauma-informed approaches. ❌ Why Traditional OCM Fails After Crisis Hypervigilance: Organizations that have experienced crisis develop heightened threat sensitivity. Capital One employees reported spending time scanning for threats rather than innovating. Trust Erosion: After their breach, Capital One faced profound trust challenges—not just with customers, but internally as well. Employees questioned decisions they previously took for granted. Identity Disruption: The crisis challenged Capital One's self-perception as a technology leader with superior security. 💡 The Trauma-Informed Change Approach Capital One eventually reset their approach, following a different sequence: 1. Safety First (Before planning transformation) - Created psychological safety through transparent communication - Established consistent leadership presence - Acknowledged failures without scapegoating 2. Process the Experience (Before driving adoption) - Facilitated emotional-processing forums - Documented lessons without blame - Rebuilt institutional trust through consistent follow-through 3. Rebuild Capacity (Before expecting performance) - Restored core capabilities focused on team recovery - Invested in resilience support resources - Developed narrative incorporating the crisis 4. Transform (After rebuilding capacity) - Created new organizational identity incorporating the crisis - Shifted from compliance to values-based approach - Developed narrative of strength through adversity 5. Post-Crisis Growth - Built resilience from the experience - Established deeper stakeholder relationships - Transformed crisis into competitive advantage Only after these steps did Capital One successfully implement their changes, achieving 78% adoption—significantly higher than similar post-breach transformations. 🔮 The fundamental insight: Crisis recovery isn't just about returning to normal—organizations that address trauma can transform crisis into opportunity. Have you experienced transformation after organizational crisis? What trauma-informed approaches have you found effective? #CrisisRecovery #ChangeManagement #OrganizationalResilience