From Christine Blondel , May 1st,2020
Much has been written about the current coronavirus crisis, and much will still be!
I have chosen one particular facet: how crisis act as revealers, for ourselves, our families, our businesses, our governments…
Interestingly, the French word “épreuve”, which means ordeal or hardship, also means proof or print (for instance in the photography context). The print reveals what was photographed. The hardship acts as a revealer.
The current crisis, for sure, is an ordeal and a hardship for many - and will continue to be for some time. But what does it reveal to us? On a macro-level, many things are and will continue to be found and said, whether it be on the state of health equipment in various countries, dependence for essential supplies, link between air pollution and impact of the virus, or the role of personal health conditions, including weight, on mortality.
Many of these illustrate that our houses “were not in order”, and here I indirectly quote the Bible. This expression was used by a family business founder who shared his life story with our MBA class many years ago. While in hospital with a life-threatening illness, he realised that “his house was not in order”, and that meant addressing and organising his succession, which he did subsequently. And he is still alive many years later.
In which state were our houses when the lockdown arrived?
- How solid was the business financially? Traditionally, family businesses do not like debt, and no doubt those without debt can better stand the loss of business. Several family business leaders could say: “luckily we have a solid business, with little debt”.
- How reactive and innovative was the management? A family business leader, whose business is strongly affected by the crisis, said: “I am impressed with my leadership team and what we have been able to do in the past weeks”. He is glad that he always paid attention to the quality of the team – which sometimes meant taking tough people decisions. Some business leaders have had incredible reactions during this crisis, creatively developing new, adapted, services, converting part of their production to support health initiatives, organising solidarity in their communities, and even sometimes giving up a part of their remuneration.
- How united are the family owners? A family business leader who had been nurturing family cohesion for many years, organising events, setting up a family council and consulting it for important shareholder decisions, etc. could feel this support when he discussed the crisis with the family council.
- On a personal level, what did the lockdown reveal about ourselves, our reactions and attitudes, our lives? For me, there were 3 major realisations: I am very fortunate to live in a place which I really like; I enjoy the new balance that the lack of travel brings me; and I am discovering new ways of working that I intend to keep in the future, like delivering training on line and holding more meetings on line. While I acknowledge the virtue of personal contacts, I am not sure that my energy and the resources of the planet are best used when a two-hour meeting requires five hours of travel.
Indeed, the crisis not only reveals how much in order our “house” was, it also reveals what we are able to do differently. This crisis also acted as an accelerator of change.
And you: what did the crisis reveal to you? About your business, your management team, your family, yourself? And what will you do differently?
Best wishes, and take care.
Blog initially developed for Cornell University, where Christine Blondel is a Family Business Scholar.
