Hey folks, if you’re a business leader worrying about the economy, you’re not alone. Every day, you’ve been reading about a possible recession, nagging inflation, and continued pessimism among consumers. Or maybe you noticed gold prices are going up, home prices are out of reach of many in the middle class, and this is an election year. So what’s a good business leader like you to do?
I used to think what made a leader good was their ability to avoid turbulence. From long experience and research, I realize what makes a good leader is their ability to manage turbulence. Because there’s always going to be turbulence.
In my research, I found good leaders all do the same three things when encountering turbulence in times of crisis and uncertainty. It’s called ACE, after flying aces. Good leaders Anticipate, Communicate, and Execute.
Anticipate
Good leaders anticipate turbulence. Anticipation is not a prediction. It’s thinking about what could go wrong in the future, where you are weak, where you are strong, and what you can do if one of those worrisome things talked about in the media happens.
For example, the future of the economy is anyone’s guess. On the one hand, there’s high inflation and high interest rates. On the other, there’s a thriving market and plenty of jobs. The economy could head into recession, rebound, or end up in a stagflation quagmire.
A good leader would anticipate all scenarios. For a recession, you might think: How can my company cut costs? How can my team improve productivity? Or for a recount, you might think: Where should our company invest money?
When you anticipate, you have a plan for when things go wrong.
Communicate
When a crisis comes along, a good leader knows they must communicate with their clients, colleagues, and company employees to instill confidence. You don’t have to have all the answers in a crisis. You just have to be working on finding answers.
First up, there are some ways not to communicate. Good leaders avoid saying, “Don’t panic” and “Stay calm.” Those phrases have never stopped a panic or calmed anyone down. Ever.
Instead, explain the situation. Say that there is a plan in place (or you are working on putting a plan in place). Tell everyone if we work together, we’ll get through this patch of turbulence.
For example, I was once on my regular plane route and encountered real turbulence. With no warning, the plane dropped like a rock. The pilot came on after the turbulence and said, “Don’t panic.” By then, it was too late. I had already made more promises to a higher power I couldn’t take back.
The return flight also had turbulence. However, the situation was communicated differently. The pilot came on before we hit turbulence and told the passengers, “Folks, we’re going to enter an area known for turbulence. But we got this under control. Please stay seated. And we should be just fine.”
The pilot’s communication gave me confidence there was a plan in place and that I was being looked after. So, when we hit turbulence, I didn’t panic. I was relaxed. Or as relaxed as you can be when a plane is shaking. And, just like he said, we came out fine.
Execute
Good leaders know how to execute. By executing, I mean leaders own the turbulence in their business. They don’t blame bad events on others. They take responsibility for their people. This is what leadership is all about anyway. It’s easy to lead when all is going well. The true test is a crisis.
In 2000, I had a big business crisis. The tech company I worked for ran out of money when a venture capitalist pulled out. It was one week before Christmas. In order to keep the company afloat, we had to fire 35 employees.
One person on the leadership team suggested we delegate Human Resources to handle the firing. But good leaders don’t shrug off the hard stuff. They own it. They execute. So me and the other leaders sat in the conference room and fired 35 people.
It’s not my favorite memory. But one woman we fired respected the way me and the other leaders handled the situation and later recommended me as a leader to her new company.
If you want to lead well in business, you need to know how to manage turbulence. From research and personal experience, I found the ACE method works best: Anticipate, Communicate, and Execute.
Try it out, and let me know how it works for you.
Ken is the Executive Vice President at BigSpeak, serving as the Head of Talent & Artists and the Head of Marketing. Ken earned his Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership from the University of California, an M.B.A. from Babson College, an M.A. in Communication from USC Annenberg and his LLM in Media tech and Privacy Law at the USC Gould School of Law. He teaches Innovation and Entrepreneurship at USC Annenberg, and Marketing and Business Ethics & Law at UC Santa Barbara. He is a serial entrepreneur, keynote speaker, business consultant and sales & marketing expert. For press interviews, contact marketing@bigspeak.com.
