From CEO to CEO - Faith, hope and love to weather the storm
2007 ->
Everything comes to a sudden halt. The order books flutter ominously in the belly of the boat, empty sails flapping, and then the storms rise up in a series. Each one worse than the last, each one more unexpected. Growth is already lost at the port of departure. Even profitability is being tested.
The sky tears further, the waves rise even higher, and the horizon disappears.
The financial crisis hits shipping companies. Soon afterwards, the entire crew is plagued by an exceptional case of scurvy, for which vaccines are rapidly being developed. Just as the ship's crew is on their feet, war breaks out.
You stand on the deck of a ship - as the captain on whom everyone's eyes are focused.
This is the story of what happens when a leader is caught in a storm and nothing learned is enough.
Believe
A captain once told me:
“When I walked out of the redundancy meeting, I sat in the car and cried. Leadership is that moment when you go home and try to smile at your kids, even though you know someone else's kid's dad lost his job today. It's a contradiction that no one teaches. The next day, I kept working and I kept going - not because I was strong, but because the people left behind deserved the actions that would create the future believe.”
He knew he had to save the ship with his people and bring the remaining crew home safe, so every decision and action weighed heavy on his heart. Leadership does not always look like winning. Sometimes it looks like silently crying in a parking lot - and yet getting up the next morning because believes, that we will get through this and the staff will wait.
Hope
When the sea is rough, the map is out of date and the navigator doesn't work, the compass helps you keep your bearings. Leadership is not about knowing everything. It is the wisdom to know what you don't know and the wisdom to see beyond the storm, directing people to the harbour of hope.
The strategy may be getting old, but the vision and values give hope and strength to continue together. The route plan will be refined according to the situation and the changing environment.
For the CEO, this means ability:
- Thinking in a strategic time horizon, i.e. what this means for us immediately today and what it means for us in the longer term of 3-5 years
- The ability to see the situation for what it is, but to keep going in the right and desirable direction.
- Leading empathetically by showing your own vulnerability and inviting others to join in
Love
When the waves crash and the deck is in chaos, sometimes there is only one voice left - your own. The voice that asks, “Did I do the right thing and am I up to it?”
Another captain once said:
“After everyone else had gone home, I stayed in the office. I checked my email, which no longer answered, and my phone, which no longer rang. The lyrics of Samuli Putro's song ”silence is so perfectly silent” came into my head and I wondered if I could take it and if I was doing the right thing.”
This is not a weakness. It is the result of love. It is when you care too much to be indifferent.
And that's what makes you a leader that people follow and help - not because you're strong, but because you're genuine and you care. You may be lonely, but you are not alone.
From CEO to CEO in the eye of the storm - Remember to believe, hope and love
Our clients' CEOs have been and are currently navigating an exceptionally difficult operating environment and a cosmic triangle of loneliness amidst business pitfalls. However, they have survived and will continue to survive because they have remembered:
- Believe
- Hope
- Love
Remember you too!
Read one story of how we have helped our customers navigate challenging times: https://www.dev.ozakisushi.digisilta.fi/blogi/case-efetta-oy-kanssakulkija/
