We recently shared a collection of our best articles and blogs on the topics of preparing for change and leading through uncertainty. While the adjustment to what’s happening around us is an ongoing pursuit, together we are facing evermore questions about what the future will look like as the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to unfold.
As a leader, your team is looking to you for guidance, reassurance, and leadership now – perhaps even more than when this crisis was new and emerging. So we wanted to share another collection of articles around leading through difficulty and recession-proofing your organization. We hope that they provide helpful frames of reference for leading well today, though challenges abound, as you seek to prepare your team, your business, and yourself for tomorrow.
Summary of Themes
- Cost Cutting Without Unnecessary Layoffs
- How Leaders Can Lead Through a Crisis
- Lessons From Past Crises Weathered
Cost Cutting Without Unnecessary Layoffs
Give Me Two Hours, And I Can Cut $250M
How can a company limit unnecessary layoffs, preserve employee engagement, and cut costs to safeguard against an economic downturn? This article shares three steps leaders can take to recession-proof their organizations.
The Missing Ingredient in Kraft Heinz’s Restructuring
More and more companies are downsizing in response to COVID-19. For many businesses, there is an understandable and urgent need to find ways to reduce costs quickly. Yet there is often a hidden cost to layoffs. Beyond the immediate loss of productivity and slumped morale there is an unexpected yet profound impact on innovation that limits an organization’s ability to return to growth after the crisis. Our research suggests that it takes companies 2-3 years to return to the same level of employee engagement after a sizable reduction in the workforce. And when layoffs are necessary, there is a better way to implement them.
How Leaders Can Lead Through Crisis
Why Burning Platforms Don’t Work
What should leaders do when faced with a crisis? Fear prompts people to take fewer risks and preserve the status quo. This article shares how to help employees move past the anxiety, fear, and worry that impairs their ability to find the next-level solutions needed in never-before-seen times.
What CEOs Can Learn From Colbert and Kimmel
Late night hosts (and their kids) have helped us all navigate COVID-19 with humor, providing a source of levity and comfort in a dark time. What can leaders learn from them right now? For starters, take stock of where people are and what they’re feeling – and make sure your communications match. A message that ignores the anxiety hanging in the air produces…more anxiety.
How Do You React When the Wind Shifts? Lessons From Jamie Anderson’s Gold Medal Run
The 2020 Olympics are delayed due to COVID-19, so let’s take a nostalgic look back to the 2018 Winter Olympics. The winds have shifted not just for your personal circumstances, but for the entire world. How you respond, what you do next, is more important than ever.
Lessons From Past Crises
Lessons Learned From the 2008 Financial Crisis
As we face another global recession, it’s timely to revisit lessons from the 2008 financial crisis, made clearer with the benefit of hindsight. When the unthinkable happened, who emerged stronger – and why?
Tariffs and a Turkish Coup – How Manufacturers Win in the Face of Uncertainty
What does it take to win in the era of exponential change? No matter what is driving the change: a pandemic, a military coup, new regulations, or disruptive technology, this article shares three insights that can help you thrive in uncertain times better than your competition.
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