Perhaps it has been repeated ad nauseam that the word crisis in the Chinese language expresses danger and opportunity at the same time. Although there are authors who deny it, I will take it as true. Now, the issue is opportunity for what? The answer to this question is not in the Chinese ideogram.
Surely other colleagues will be able to comment on which are the most appropriate decisions regarding the financial, economic and other specific aspects of the business.
In my client companies there are dissimilar attitudes, there are those that restrict all movement, those that decide to invest to update the technological part, those that take advantage of lower productivity to train, others that only intend to "float"…
Where there are coincidences is that, in times of crisis in the company, you have to prepare. This is not a minor piece of information to begin to answer the initial question (Crisis = danger / opportunity, opportunity for what?) Opportunity to Prepare.
What does it mean to prepare?
First of all, become aware of the current situation.
Then, think about the future, in a future in which there will be events that will not depend on your own decisions but on the decisions of others.
So preparing is trying different possible scenarios and what should be done if this one or that one were to develop.
This brings us to the present:
Do we have the resources we need?
Do we have the people prepared to implement the changes that are necessary?
The prepared people!… it has been repeated ad nauseam, in modern management, that the most valuable capital of a company is human capital, a statement that often does not translate into facts.
It is in moments of crisis that the concept of human capital acquires its true dimension.
Now, how can companies count on their people in times of crisis?
Appealing to values
But… what are values?
They are the reason you work. They target the emotions, they make us care about what happens.
They are a connection between what a person does, what matters to them and the objectives of the company. For this to happen, people (the famous human capital) must feel part of the company. The best way to achieve this is by making each one feel that what they do is important, how? consulting him and allowing him to express his views.
In many companies, executives fear this type of action on the grounds of loss of influence or power. Nothing further from reality. Power or influence is lost precisely when participation is avoided, when managers or superiors remain isolated from "their" people and make decisions alone.
Much is said about aligning people with the objectives of the company but in practice little is done to achieve it. Alignment is achieved with participation.
A company consists of people who get together, act together and share. This is essential in times of crisis.
Organizational values are intangible and omnipresent, although their presence on a day-to-day basis has concrete consequences in management, in making essential decisions and in the way they treat their staff and clients. If a company is not aligned with its values and they do not express them in their actions, the values remain in empty words that do not say anything and do not serve as a flag.
For the values not to remain in mere statements, it is necessary that they are transmitted to the entire company.
But how are organizational values transmitted?
Through acts.
If the values are not expressed in the actions, they remain in empty words that say nothing.
Values are not learned with a master class, but implicitly, through interpersonal relationships, social influence. Learning occurs in spaces of experiences in which values are put into play, by living and experiencing the consequence that these values have on the environment and on the behavior of other people.
Spreading corporate values through talks, hanging up posters, making presentations, is necessary, but it is not enough for each member of the company to make them their own.
The more uncertain the future, the more important organizational values are as guiding principles.
