There's no doubt action (and speed of adaptability) is important, but I'd also highlight a 2nd virtue - patience.
Action for the sake of action is called panic. People who like to control things (executives, leaders, me, etc) often feel like they need to be doing something to have a sense of control in the midst of chaos.
The only thing that needs action right now is triage - cost-cutting. Cash flow to survive and keep payroll going for the next 12-18 months. Once the safety net is in place, the mood changes from frantic survival to calm.
At that point, the ratio of thinking:acting time should arguably double. Recessions take plenty of time to unwind. Take 30 days (not 2) to gather information from across the org and evaluate trending opportunities. “Measure twice, cut once.” applies to pivots, too.
Re-developing new models for recognizing opportunities and a new decision framework for when to act upon those opportunities takes time. The folks who spend more time thinking about where the puck is going to be vs. reacting to its every jitter are the ones who will come out ahead.
This is such an important point. However, sticking to the "panic only as much as needed" idea is difficult because, sometimes, incentives are skewed to reward panic. Think about all the laws that are passed without regard to the side-effects because "someone ought to do something about this". In peacetime, prepare for war. Before the crisis hits, you should take the time to think through how you and the people around you need to behave and what is likely to trip you up. Don't assume you will do the right thing. Plan to do the right thing.
Action for the sake of action is called panic. People who like to control things (executives, leaders, me, etc) often feel like they need to be doing something to have a sense of control in the midst of chaos.
The only thing that needs action right now is triage - cost-cutting. Cash flow to survive and keep payroll going for the next 12-18 months. Once the safety net is in place, the mood changes from frantic survival to calm.
At that point, the ratio of thinking:acting time should arguably double. Recessions take plenty of time to unwind. Take 30 days (not 2) to gather information from across the org and evaluate trending opportunities. “Measure twice, cut once.” applies to pivots, too.
Re-developing new models for recognizing opportunities and a new decision framework for when to act upon those opportunities takes time. The folks who spend more time thinking about where the puck is going to be vs. reacting to its every jitter are the ones who will come out ahead.