Leading in a Vacuum
Today I spoke with a leader of a mid-sized company, who shared that the owners of his firm had their heads in the sand (my words, not his). They’ve taken perfunctory measures to deal with a meaningful drop in revenue: they’ve laid off people; they’ve reduced salaries; they’ve given the pep talks.
But what they aren’t doing is looking to the future and thinking strategically about how to get out of the hole that they’re in. This particular leader is enormously frustrated because he has spoken up and recommended several strong ideas, and is basically being ignored.
I think the owners are avoiding the ideas of this leader because they’re terrified of going out of business, and the course of “no action” is the most comfortable.
Inertia can feel comfortable, but it’s a disaster when revenue is down, cash flow has dried up, and key senior staff members offer help but aren’t being heard. Action always trumps inertia. If you’re in a situation like this, doing something is always better than doing nothing.
