Business Toolkit – Page 27 – thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World

Risky Business – How Do You Manage Risk?

January 8, 2024/0 Comments/in Books, Business Toolkit, Guest Blogger, Leadership, Project Management, Strategy /by Trevor Jones

Every business venture carries risk. Kim Wasson describes a straightforward process for determining what might go wrong and whether it’s worth worrying about.

Today’s guest post is by Kim Wasson, a principal at thoughtLEADERS and author of The Socially Intelligent Project Manager: Soft Skills That Prevent Hard Days (CLICK HERE to get your copy).

Every business venture, from initial filing to product announcement to hiring, carries risk. And while we certainly focus on risk for the big ticket items, we tend to ignore the possible issues for anything smaller than a product launch – and then get caught unaware when something goes wrong.

Of course, not every possible risk is worth worrying about. Sure, the volcano under Yellowstone might erupt but the changes are vanishingly small and there’s no way to predict or avoid it. But other things, like running over budget or being leapfrogged by competitors, or even setting up some kind of process that ends up causing an exodus at your company, are worth trying to get ahead of.

Where do you start trying to figure out what might go wrong and whether it’s worth worrying about? Fortunately, there’s a process for that.

Let’s back up a bit. Before you start looking at what might go wrong you’ll need to understand how you (and probably your organization) feel about the importance of what you’re doing. Will you damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead no matter what the risk (for example, a new start-up trying to get the first product out)? Is it a bet-the-company proposition? Is it a trial balloon that won’t be worth too much risk because either the reward is small or the possible damage is too serious to continue? The answers to these questions won’t help you identify the risks, but they will help you decide what to do about risks once you see them.

Now that you’re thinking about what’s important to your project, process or decision, brainstorm the things that could go wrong. If you understand the parameters of the endeavor you’ll be able to more easily see what could derail those parameters, so think about the goals while you’re brainstorming.

Let’s assume you have a list of possible issues – or maybe disasters. The next thing to do is to decide whether they are in fact issues or actual disasters and whether you should do anything to address them. The question of where on the scale of issue to disaster a risk falls is called impact. Once you know the impact of a risk, take a look at how likely it is to happen – probability. You can see that some things may have a big impact – like the Yellowstone eruption – but a small probability. You might not want to do anything more about those risks except track them. Some things might have a big probability but they really won’t do much harm and you can see you’d be able to recover. You might not want to spend time on those either.

But for those risks in the sweet spot of high likelihood and large impact, you want to be prepared. Know what they’ll look like if they happen and any warning signs you expect to see. Is there a way you can make them less likely or less destructive? And is that way worth the trouble, money, and/or time?

And what if the risk becomes reality? Contingency plans can help you out there. Knowing what you’re going to do if it happens means you’ll be working on recovery immediately.

While you’re figuring all this out and then applying what you’ve learned, you’ll have to take some time to understand who needs to know about the possible risks and what you’re doing about them. Risk reporting starts with just a red/yellow/green flag and can run the gamut from that high level to a complete risk register and all of your plans and measurements.

The real story here is that you ignore risk at your peril. Using a straightforward process you can anticipate and evaluate potential risks, determine the danger level, reduce the impact and/or probability of some of them, and be ready to respond if an identified risk comes to pass. All you have to do is think about risk in an organized way and then pay attention as you go along.

– Kim Wasson is a principal at thoughtLEADERS where she teaches our course on Risk Management. If you’re interested in the course, please contact us.

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How are intellectual property and trademark rights viewed in your organization?

January 4, 2024/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Trevor Jones

Our reader poll today asks: How are intellectual property and trademark rights viewed in your organization?

They’re sacred and should never be violated 70.74%
One should be careful not to violate them but … sometimes it happens 22.57%
It’s not a big deal if you’re not overly obvious about violating them 4.87%
Who cares? It’s imaginary stuff anyway 1.82%

Respecting IP and trademarks. Just because they’re “invisible” doesn’t mean they can’t be stolen. For the 7% of you who say it’s not a big deal to violate IP or trademarks or that one doesn’t need to care, think again. There are stiff penalties for violating IP and trademarks including fines, lawsuits, sanctions, and other unpleasant consequences of not respecting the rights someone has to something they created. In the moment it might not seem like a big deal to use that picture, song, video, or proprietary framework but when the trademark holder finds out, you could find yourself in a heap of trouble. Also consider the fact that you’re stealing – you’re using the work of another person without appropriately compensating them for their creation. Do the right thing – respect IP and trademarks. Pay for licensed versions of content or don’t use it if it’s not allowed to be used for your purposes. You’d want the same respect for your work if you were the creator. Save yourself the headaches and respect the IP of others.

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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Defining the Context of Your Negotiation

January 4, 2024/1 Comment/in Business Toolkit, Strategy /by Trevor Jones

Understanding the strategic environment of a negotiation will help you achieve your desired outcome.

The first step in any negotiating process is defining and understanding the context you’re operating in. You have to understand the strategic environment of the negotiation in order to be successful. There are several elements to defining this context.

First, who is the decision maker, and why are they doing this? The better you understand these players and what they’re trying to get out of the negotiation, the more successfully you’re going to be able to approach them.

Second, define your goals. What are you interested in, and what do you need? By laying out these objective functions, you can focus on achieving them during the negotiation, and make sure that you don’t accidentally give them up.

Third, what are the outcomes that are in play? What’s at stake? So when you look at the final negotiation, what are those possible end states? What do you risk losing? What do you risk gaining?

Next, define the other options you’re considering. Many negotiations have many different outcomes that you can pursue. By defining what these options are, you’re better able to determine which one you should pursue.

And last, what will it take to close the deal? Trying to get a clear understanding of what’s going to lead the other party to say yes, and what’s going to get approval on your end for the negotiation is critical.

An example of a negotiation I went through where we had to clearly define the context was when we were trying to buy back a franchise operation. The owners were looking to cash out. They wanted to sell their franchise back to us as a corporation. Our goal was to buy access to their market but do so at a reasonable price. So these were the goals of the parties that were involved.

Now, the options we had available to us were either a full purchase of their territory or no sale and they would retain it. We couldn’t buy a portion of it, and we couldn’t enter that market without making the purchase. So we have those two options that we had to think through and evaluate.

And then last we had to understand that it would take significant cash up front and we had to look at our ability to pay that as well as what that offer would be worth to the franchise owners. By laying out this complete context to the negotiation, we made our negotiating position much stronger because we understood what we wanted to get out of the deal.

As you look at negotiations you enter, make sure you take the time to define this context and document it so you can go back to it on a regular basis, test your assumptions, and stay on track to achieve your goals.

Want to learn more about strategic negotiation? How about taking an entire course on it? You can go directly to the course and start learning how to build high-performing teams. The entire course is available at LinkedIn Learning. Enjoy!

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Bold Moves: Transforming from Executive Leadership to Portfolio Mastery

January 3, 2024/0 Comments/in Books, Business Toolkit, Career, Guest Blogger, Leadership, Strategy /by Trevor Jones

Unlock the path from corporate executive to a thriving portfolio career, showcasing intentional choices and strategic career moves for lasting success.

Today’s guest post is by Merideth Mehlberg, author of YOUR FINEST WORK: Career Fulfillment In A Complicated World (CLICK HERE to get your copy).

Renata, Vice President of Operations for a large fintech company, arrived for coaching ready to leave her role, but fearful of the risks such a shift would include. She had grown fond of the status that came from helping lead a well-known brand. As we began our coaching, Renata sat with two different potential paths: thinking she had “one more big role” in her working at a similar-sized organization, or joining an early-stage company where she could wield greater influence at the C-level.

I recognized this dilemma as one I’d seen many times before when coaching executive clients. I knew that to support Renata best, we needed to help her become her career’s intentional architect, stepping back to clarify her guiding principles. Acting as her compass, they would provide direction from the inside out. To solidify her non-negotiables, I posed questions to distill what she wanted for her next chapter, asking:

What did she value most, and how must those values align with her work?

What did she long to spend her time doing at work?

What type of business problem did she want to help solve?

What type of work environment would bring out her best?

What would make her feel satisfied professionally?

These answers formed a set of criteria that allowed Renata to push past her fears. When we examined what she was afraid of, she recognized that optics felt important. If she moved to a smaller company, she worried that people would think she was wasting her experience. In the future, she wondered whether large companies would consider her for executive roles if she joined a startup now. After strategizing the risks, Renata was able to relax and confirm the intention to join a startup supporting a mission she felt passionate about.

Over time, the conditions at her current employer grew worse. Enduring a tenuous relationship with her boss and pressure to deliver with limited resources, Renata started taking recruiter calls. I coached her to identify and evaluate early-stage opportunities that suited her best. She learned of a startup poised to disrupt an underserved market she cared about. After careful investigation of likely fit, she accepted an offer to join the company as COO and tendered her resignation.

Renata spent the next year leading the startup to implement its operational model. Gradually she grew tired of execution and frustrated as her vision for the company diverged from that of the founder. Although she could have stayed on longer, the desire for freedom was too great, so she decided to leave to pursue a portfolio career.

A portfolio career is one where a professional enjoys multiple income streams, spreading time and effort among different projects, employers, and/or clients. For example, a person might teach at a local university, run a small business, sit on a board, and do fractional work for a company on retainer. The benefits of a portfolio career are many, including diversifying one’s income and gaining a sense of increased control and security.

Renata relished a portfolio career because it allowed her to do the work she loved: engaging customers to understand their needs, defining solutions to meet those requirements, and coaching emerging leaders to develop their professional potential. She could minimize time spent on the tasks she didn’t enjoy: implementing solutions. Shedding the piece that dragged on her energy left Renata feeling delighted in her work.

A key element of Renata’s career portfolio came together when we sketched out her capacity, including the ideal number and types of engagements to carry at one time. This involved solidifying her target client personas. When speaking with a prospective client, she adjusts her approach and pitch to match their needs. She set a cap on the number of engagements she can handle at one time, introducing scarcity that provides her an advantage when negotiating.

Through our coaching, Renata defined her target clients’ needs and what they value in her skillset. We developed her messaging to engage with her network to open doors. Renata now enjoys a variety of projects. The different roles create value in similar ways, AND they allow her to work on disparate business problems. The diversity keeps her interested.

A breakthrough moment came when I observed her penchant for tentative language when discussing her career. Once aware, Renata deliberately shifted her wording to appear resolute, using definitive language with herself and others. For example, she switched from saying “I’m hoping to have…” to “My next phase includes…” when discussing her career transition. That shift helped her embody gravitas and conviction, making her attractive to clients, partners, and employers.

Renata’s portfolio came together over time. She hires herself out as a coach to support individual leaders and companies looking to improve operational excellence. Some clients hired her directly; others she sourced through an agency, trading in some compensation for not having to find and land the business. She engaged in a half-time fractional leadership role with a privately-held fintech company, earning a retainer while accelerating the company’s operational readiness for an acquisition. After a year, she had streamlined the company’s operational model and hired her full-time replacement. She then shifted to an advisory role.

Finally, she also engages with early-stage companies as a retained advisor.

With multiple portfolio components, Renata enjoys a sense of professional detachment. When one engagement ends, she knows that another will take its place. Renata has grown in her confidence as a practitioner and enjoys the lifestyle of her time being her own. Her next move includes investing in startups she believes in, combining compensation and equity to share the upside in companies she is helping to grow.

Merideth Mehlberg, MCC, author of YOUR FINEST WORK: Career Fulfillment In A Complicated World, is CEO of Merideth Mehlberg Group. An ICF-certified Master Coach, she helps executives look forward to Monday mornings. For almost twenty years, she has walked alongside senior and high-potential leaders to define their career priorities, measure the gap with their current opportunities, and close the space between the two. Clients grow their professional satisfaction, impact, and success, transforming their careers and leadership styles from the inside out.

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How do you handle team members who ask for too many resources?

December 28, 2023/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Trevor Jones

Our reader poll today asks: How do you handle team members who ask for too many resources?

I tell them “we’ll see” so I don’t have to say “no” 4.40%
I say “no” directly and explain why 35.12%
I tell them what conditions they have to meet to earn those resources 60.48%
I ignore the request and hope it goes away 0.00%

Conditional approval before “no.” The vast majority of respondents shared that they place conditions on getting resources. Doing so lets your team member know what they can do (if anything) to secure the resources they need. And if they have no control over the situation, it lets them know what conditions have to occur before resources will be released. For example, that might sound like “if we reach our sales goal this quarter, we’ll fund your technology investment request next quarter.” Conditional approval can use the phrase “yes, if…” This means telling someone “yes, you can have funding for the technology investment if you can come in under budget on the other project you’re currently working on.” This gives them control over the situation or it has them be the one to say “no” to themselves if they’re not able to fulfill the conditions for moving forward.

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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Do you have your team members write self-appraisals and use those as a basis for the review you write?

December 21, 2023/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Trevor Jones

Our reader poll today asks: Do you have your team members write self-appraisals and use those as a basis for the review you write?

Yes 73.64%
No 15.46%
We don’t write performance appraisals 10.90%

Write it yourself. If you have the opportunity to write your own self appraisal (and based on the poll results, it looks like most people do), there are a few tips for getting the appraisal you want and deserve. First, write it in the third person which makes it easier for your manager to cut and paste your well-written words about yourself. It also minimizes the amount of editing they’ll need to do which they’ll appreciate. Second, be fact-based in your assessment. The more you stretch things, the more likely it is that your manager will discard your thoughts and write a more balanced appraisal. Where you have facts to back up performance assertions, use them. Metrics are solid ways to establish performance. And finally, present a balanced picture. Include the things that didn’t go well. It demonstrates self-awareness and makes it easier to have the final appraisal conversation because your manager knows you’re already aware of those shortcomings.

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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How to Make Your Meetings More Efficient

December 13, 2023/1 Comment/in Business Toolkit, Communications, Leadership, Project Management /by Trevor Jones

You should spend less time in meetings and more time driving results. Follow these four tips to make your meetings more efficient.

When you’re running a high-performing team, one of the most valuable assets you’ve got is time. And so much of our time gets consumed by worthless activities, the most worthless being meetings that don’t have a purpose and aren’t efficient. So I’d like to offer some techniques for running your meetings more efficiently, helping you focus on the right key sets of metrics, and then managing by exception. You should spend less time in meetings and more time driving results.

First, share information ahead of time. Send documents out to people well in advance of the meeting and set a clear expectation that that information will be reviewed before people come into the room. And then hold people to that standard when they come to the meeting. Simply ask, “Has everybody reviewed the information that was sent out?” And if enough people haven’t reviewed it, you should adjourn the meeting and reschedule. Start setting that tone for people that this is an expectation. When we send stuff out in advance, it’s going to be reviewed so we can be efficient with our time when we’re together.

Second, define the meeting purpose ahead of time when you invite people. Make sure you’re going to have the right players in the room and make sure they bring the right information. If you’re not going to have the key players or the information won’t be ready, reschedule the meeting. Holding the meeting anyway will be a frustrating waste of time. Only talk about major variances and focus on the metrics that are out of line. Forget all the ones that are meeting expectations and think about how you can solve for the variances that are appearing.

Next, the 80/20 rule is absolutely in play as you approach your meetings. There are only a few metrics or a few projects that really matter and are going to drive your results, and you should spend the vast majority of your time on that small number of projects. Review your standing meetings. Take a step back and ask, “Is that meeting still serving a purpose?” If it’s not, you should end the meeting and stop having it.

And lastly, in terms of meeting efficiency, if a decision is to be made, ensure everyone in the meeting knows what was decided and communicate the decision immediately to the rest of the organization. You can’t have people walking out with a lack of clarity on what the decision was. Nor can you have a meeting where you make a decision and you don’t let people know what you want them to do.

So be efficient with your meetings. Time is precious. Focus on what matters. Manage by exception. Be clear about the purpose. Make your decisions and communicate them so the team can focus on having impact.

Want to learn more about building high-performing teams? How about taking an entire course on it? Check out the video below to learn more about the course and get started. Or you can go directly to the course and start learning how to build high-performing teams. The entire course is available at LinkedIn Learning. Enjoy!

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Tips for Announcing Bad News

December 11, 2023/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Entrepreneur, Guest Blogger, Leadership, Strategy /by Trevor Jones

No one enjoys being the bearer of bad news. However, if we can deliver it quickly and effectively, our message tends to go over much better.

Today’s guest post is by Thomas Mustac, Medical & Health Industry Specialist — Otter PR

We’ve all been on both ends of this uncomfortable conversation starter: “I have good news and bad news — which do you want first?” According to one study from the Society for Personal and Social Psychology, most people in the position of delivering news choose to open with good news, whereas those people receiving the news overwhelmingly prefer to hear bad news first.

No one enjoys being the bearer of bad news. However, if we can deliver it quickly and effectively, our message tends to go over much better.

Choose a capable spokesperson to announce the bad news

When your organization is in hot water, you need a spokesperson to represent you and convey your message. The spokesperson should be trustworthy, knowledgeable about the circumstances surrounding the announcement and how it affects your business, and able to communicate the bad news honestly and directly. Above all, they must be calm, cool, and collected.

A spokesperson making this type of announcement must keep their tone professional at all times. The goal is to deliver the news concisely while coming across as trustworthy, credible, and empathetic.

If you have more than one person who could serve as a spokesperson, choose someone with experience speaking publicly. If you don’t have anyone on staff who has done this before, consider hiring an expert public relations firm or consultant to help guide your communication efforts during this difficult time.

When announcing bad news, be direct

When breaking bad news, be direct, honest, and transparent. Be clear about what happened, how it happened, and what your company is doing to improve the situation.

When announcing bad news, it’s human nature to want to sugarcoat the worst parts, to show yourself in a better light, or even to give false hope to your listeners. For example, when announcing that an employee has been fired, it’s tempting to sprinkle the announcement with euphemisms such as “involuntary departure.” While this wording may make the message easier to deliver, it can confuse the announcement and drag out the situation.

People want answers when bad news is announced, and they will quickly lose trust in someone who appears to be dodging the truth or hiding the facts. Resist the urge to beat around the bush or cast blame — this will only make you appear defensive. Take responsibility. Remember that people want answers, not excuses.

The key is to make your stance known and be as concise as possible. Deliver your message briefly without skirting the facts and drive that message home as you answer questions.

When there is bad news to announce, honesty is the best policy

Delivering bad news can be extremely stressful. When the pressure becomes too much, a spokesperson may resort to a lie, but no matter how small it might be, a lie can (and will) erode public trust and tarnish your organization’s image. At this point, you must deal with an image problem in addition to your original crisis.

Transparency will always serve you best in the end. Use your announcement to state the facts, limit the damage, and outline your plan for moving forward.

Before announcing bad news, make a game plan

When you are tasked to deliver bad news, a game plan will help you stay on message. Before the announcement, have a clear idea of what you want to say and the message you want to send, and make sure you have a clear idea of what you want the announcement to achieve.

After crafting your message, think through the questions you will likely be asked in the wake of the announcement. Rehearse possible answers to each, keep them concise, and ensure they strike an appropriate tone for the particular situation.

In an emotionally charged setting, people often become flustered or distracted. While breaking bad news, you can easily find yourself rambling or losing your train of thought, but a game plan helps keep you organized and on point. Even if something unexpected happens during the announcement or press conference, you can still get your message across clearly and effectively.

As you announce bad news, be open to feedback

After your announcement, ask for feedback and listen to it carefully. Take time to think about what people are saying and consider how you can use that information to improve your organization’s performance in the future. Be prepared to make changes based on the feedback you receive from employees, customers, and partners impacted by the announcement.

Announcing bad news is never easy, but there are steps you can take to make it less stressful. By choosing a capable spokesperson who can handle the situation professionally, you can be direct and honest with your audience by explaining exactly what happened and what they can expect next. After making the announcement, open yourself up for feedback from those with constructive advice.

Thomas Mustac is Otter PR‘s medical and health industry PR specialist. He previously held positions at the “Dr. Oz Show” and New York Medical College. He has his Master’s Degree from Iona College and received an Advanced Certification in Nonprofit Public Relations. He has a diverse background in healthcare, pharmaceutical, telehealth, tech, cosmetics, sports, and interior design public relations.

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What is the biggest challenge you have when managing a high performer?

December 7, 2023/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Trevor Jones

Our reader poll today asks: What is the biggest challenge you have when managing a high performer?

Resisting the urge to manage them too closely 6.74%
Giving them challenging assignments 14.75%
Setting realistic expectations for their advancement 33.01%
Taking on more challenging work myself so they have room to grow 3.20%
Preventing them from taking on too much work 25.96%
Managing the rest of the team to keep them motivated 16.34%

Balancing Challenge and Aggressiveness. This poll is interesting in that it shows a dichotomy of giving high performers challenging assignments (15%) while at the same time preventing them from taking on too much work (26%) and helping them understand what their real trajectory is for advancement (33%). There’s also a nod to remembering you have other team members you have to keep motivated (16%). Based on all this, it seems the best approach with these high performers is having honest and direct conversations about the work they should or should not take on and helping them understand where “the bar” is for advancement. Without that kind of candor, they can become frustrated or burn themselves out (or both!). Ask them what their expectations are and manage them candidly.

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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When someone you’re negotiating with makes a completely unreasonable demand, how do you react?

November 30, 2023/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Trevor Jones

Our reader poll today asks: When someone you’re negotiating with makes a completely unreasonable demand, how do you react?

I counter with something I can accept 57.23%
I tell them they’re unreasonable and to come back with something better 30.39%
I stop negotiating entirely 3.83%
I ignore their demand and proceed as if it was never made 8.55%

Unreasonable demands can end a negotiation. While almost 60% of you will counter with a proposal you can accept when you get an unreasonable demand, 30% of you shut it down and another 4% walk away entirely. When negotiating, you must consider the implications of relationships. Making unreasonable demands can damage existing relationships and doom new ones. Ask yourself if the short-term benefit is worth it when you make what might be perceived as an unreasonable demand. Also question if the relationship will be worth it when the other party makes unreasonable demands. If there won’t be an ongoing relationship, working hard to get the best deal you can is acceptable – just recognize your reputation will follow you. Consider a successful negotiation to be one where everyone walks away from the table mildly dissatisfied. This feeling usually means everyone got a lot of what they wanted and no one gave up too much.

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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Handling Politics and Personal Agendas

November 29, 2023/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Project Management, Strategy, Training /by Trevor Jones

Politics and personal agendas can derail a high-performing team. Learn the difference between being savvy and being political.

Personal agendas and politics can derail the performance of your entire team and your team will no longer be high performing. You have to get the team focused on what matters and enable everyone on the team to rise above the politics and the personal agendas.

Now, there’s a difference between being savvy and being political. Savviness is about knowing who’s influential in the organization and how you can get things done. You’re going to be able to go to them and enlist their aid as you try and advance the agenda of your team. Being political is doing something to get ahead personally and thinking through how you can play people off of one another for your own personal gain. Your job as a leader is to understand the difference between the two and eliminate the latter.

Over time, if you let the politics continue you end up with a caustic culture where people are willing to engage in backstabbing, where people are rumor-mongering, and spreading things about other people in order to, again, advance their own personal agenda. So you have to be mindful of what the politics are, but not engage in them. If you’re good at this in terms of understanding how to be savvy and understanding that some people will have political and personal agendas, you’re going to be able to side step those issues and still help your team achieve what they’ve signed up to do.

A personal example. I worked in an organization where I was tasked with a very difficult project and I told my boss, “I can approach this project one of two ways. Either I can just be the bean counter and do things more administratively or I can take the other end of the spectrum and I can drive change. I can help us think about new ways of doing things. Now, with the first approach we’re going to get some results and people will push for some initiatives that might be uncomfortable, but mostly people will stay safe. In the second approach, we’re going to get a lot more in terms of results, but I will upset people and not just really junior people. There are some senior people who are going to be very upset with the recommendations that I drive.” And he said, “I want the impact.” My boss made the commitment.

Now, fast forward and the project is progressing. I started upsetting some very powerful people in the organization. I upset one of them so much that he went over my boss’s head and tried to get me fired because I was driving an agenda that was so counter to some of the things that he wanted personally, that he was trying to eliminate me from the organization. Fortunately, I had been savvy enough on the front end to get my boss to commit to protecting me during the process when that happened and my boss lived up to that promise.

As you assess whether you’re being savvy or political, simply ask, “Is the action I’m about to take in the best interest of the organization?” If the answer is yes, proceed. And if it’s not, stop it immediately. You have to stop it yourself and you have to stop it if you see it in the members of your team because again, politics can absolutely derail a high-performing team.

Want to learn more about building high-performing teams? How about taking an entire course on it? Check out the video below to learn more about the course and get started. Or you can go directly to the course and start learning how to build high-performing teams. The entire course is available at LinkedIn Learning. Enjoy!

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How to Effectively Navigate a Crisis

November 27, 2023/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Entrepreneur, Guest Blogger, Leadership, Strategy /by Trevor Jones

To effectively navigate a crisis scenario, companies must have a clear response plan to react promptly and honestly, and learn from their mistakes.

Today’s guest post is by Thomas Mustac, Publicist — Otter PR

Crises come in all shapes and sizes for businesses, but no matter how big or small, an organization will be overwhelmed if they have not adequately planned how to approach the crisis. Formulating a crisis response plan is one of the most important steps a business leader must take, as this will allow them to not only weather the crisis, but also walk away improved from the lessons they learned.

Everyone knows that time is not on the side of an organization facing a crisis, but few realize there are ways to use time to their advantage. In the face of a crisis, a business leader must consider the role of time in the public’s perception of the company and its crisis response. How long did it take to respond to the crisis — did it take too long, or did it seem like a knee-jerk reaction? Was the response too brief, too long-winded, or just right? And what is the timeline for the company to implement these changes? Considering these essential questions when crafting a crisis response plan will allow a business to reclaim precious time and maintain favor in the eyes of the general public.

Gaining control over a crisis

Often, a company does not have time to formulate a proper crisis response after the crisis hits. Businesses that have not prepared will find themselves scrambling, frequently getting overwhelmed and responding in a way that makes the situation worse.

Canny business leaders realize the intense timeline of a crisis and prepare a crisis response plan early in their organization’s life cycle. Although it is impossible to plan for every obstacle that will come one’s way, it is possible to create a generalized, strategic approach to crises that can be adapted to the unique circumstances of each situation.

Ultimately, a business’s crisis response plan aims to gain control over the narrative by letting the public know it has control over the situation and is working to remedy the situation as quickly as possible. Although no organization will have all the answers right away — and even if they do, it would seem suspicious — business leaders should strive to have enough answers to satiate the public’s chief concerns. If they don’t have the answers, it’s better to acknowledge this and explain that answers are in progress than to make something up that will later be exposed as a lie.

One of the most important characteristics an organization and its spokespeople must exhibit in the face of a crisis is honesty. In today’s increasingly connected and online world, it’s easier than ever for the public to find information. Chances are, if a company lies about something, someone will figure it out, and when the lie is uncovered, the situation will only worsen. Trust is difficult to build — much less rebuild — but lying is the quickest way to lose it.

Lessons learned from a crisis

Beyond honesty, businesses that hope to navigate a crisis successfully must also exhibit transparency and authenticity. If a crisis response is filled with empty promises of change and the company makes the same mistake again, the business will quickly lose consumers’ trust. Although consumers are quick to forgive and forget a mistake these days because of their shorter attention spans, companies that do not learn from their mistakes earn themselves a bad reputation — often one that is extremely difficult to overcome.

Another error companies can make when handling a crisis is over-apologizing. If a company continues to say sorry throughout its crisis response, it is not only admitting to the public that a wrong has been committed, but also continuing to point the focus towards the problem rather than the solution. While a company should acknowledge the situation in an initial crisis response, further steps should emphasize how the company will avoid a similar crisis in the future.

A major crisis is one of the scariest times in an entrepreneur’s career, but there are a few qualities to keep in mind that can help business leaders help their organizations successfully navigate these uncertain waters. By staying on top of time, maintaining composure, remaining honest, and focusing on the solution rather than the problems, the crisis will pass, and the leader and organization will grow with lessons learned.

Thomas Mustac is Otter PR‘s medical and health industry PR specialist. He previously held positions at the “Dr. Oz Show” and New York Medical College. He has his Master’s Degree from Iona College and received an Advanced Certification in Nonprofit Public Relations. He has a diverse background in healthcare, pharmaceutical, telehealth, tech, cosmetics, sports, and interior design public relations.

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