Five ways the Coronavirus Crisis has changed me as a CEO

As I gazed around the eerily vacant office one final time in March – from that point on, I’d be joining our other employees in working from home – my eyes fixed on, of all things, the office furniture.

 Like most other companies in Silicon Valley, we’d adopted an open floor plan that placed colleagues in close proximity to each other. The nearness was meant to foster collaboration and teamwork. But that was before the spread of COVID-19 changed social and workplace norms, probably forever.

 “Who,” I wondered, “will ever want to sit this way again?”

 Office design is, of course, the least of my worries at this time as most of our cybersecurity company’s 1,600 employees shelter-in-place and I lead the team from my den. But such is how my mind has worked during this public health emergency. I often feel as though I have a million new things to think about and take care of, with no standard CEO playbook to fall back on.

 And it has forced me, virtually overnight, to look at my job in ways I never would have imagined during my previous 7 ? years at Barracuda. If someone were to ask me what I’m focusing on during these unprecedentedly challenging times, I’d say it comes down to five things.

 Put people first. Even before COVID-19, you’d have a hard time finding a CEO who wouldn’t profess empathy for employees as a core value. Some merely talk the talk, others walk the walk. But the pandemic has left no doubt: The No. 1 priority of every organization, before all else, must be the physical and mental well-being of its employees. That means supporting each other and recognizing the effect the crisis is having on families and entire communities.

 As COVID-19 disrupts everyone’s routines and causes extreme anguish, we’ve been telling employees we understand their work patterns are likely to be affected by family obligations or simply needing to take a break. We’ve been making available mental health apps like Sanvello and using our employee experience platform Kazoo to help people manage the stress and stay connected.

 Other CEOs I’ve spoken with – and I’ve talked to more in the last month than I did in all of 2019 – are determined to try to preserve jobs. No one knows what hard choices a deepening recession might force, but, we want to avoid pushing people into an  uncertain job market or lose the great talent we’ve diligently built up and will need during the inevitable recovery. The focus on layoffs as a last resort is different than the fire-first mentality during the 2008-09 financial crisis.

 As a CEO, you always should care about your employees. But this crisis demands nothing less than genuine, deep empathy and compassion, on many levels.

 Get tactical. CEOs are expected to be forward thinkers, with a strong ability to see around corners and strategize for the future. But we feel like we’re flying blind during these days filled with uncertainty and rapidly changing information. Our job is to imagine what the future might hold; now, that is impossible.

 The current volatility has forced me and other CEOs to insert themselves more into the day-to-day details of keeping the business running as smoothly as possible. I’ve been getting involved in more tactical items than ever before. How many customer support calls do we get every day? What does the supply chain look like for the components we need for the security appliances we build? What’s the state of cash and receivables?

 COVID-19 has dramatically changed the “instrumentation” of the business. Decisions that used to be made based on data presented monthly or quarterly now occur daily. CEOs now have no choice but to sweat details that used to be delegated to others.

 Build scenarios. The range of possibilities for where the crisis is headed is so broad and unpredictable. A V-shaped recovery? More of a roller coaster? A profound 18-month recession?

 CEOs must try to prepare their company for any and all of these outcomes (not to mention handle the practical matter of answering to boards that want some headlights). The way to do this is by building scenarios – the company will do X if Y happens – with clear timing for making decisions. These scenarios should cover the spectrum of possibilities – from a faster-than-expected flattening of the coronavirus curve and economic recovery to a worst-case picture of protracted shutdown.

 Imagine the workplace of the future. Before the pandemic, about three-quarters of our 1,600 employees worked in offices. Will that mix change? Possibly, as more come to recognize the advantages of working from home, such as increased productivity and flexibility. And yet I’ve talked to others who miss the office and can’t wait to return.

 This tells me that more flexible work policies will become a permanent feature of the corporate landscape. And that, yes, we may have to re-design our offices.

 Embrace family. For me, this time has reinforced how much I cherish my family. I have multiple worries right now as a CEO, but my family remains my No. 1 concern.

 My college-age daughter is sheltering in place with us since her school in Boston closed. My 17-year-old son had spent three months preparing for SAT. Testing has been canceled, and he is left wondering what it means for getting into a university. We all have dreams for our children. Those dreams have been interrupted. That’s the hardest part.

 My wife, meanwhile, has a pre-existing respiratory problem. She also is anxious about what lost income at the art gallery she owns will mean for her four employees.

 But I’ve been telling employees and my family the same thing, and I believe it in my heart: By remaining calm and doing the right things, we’re going to get through this. I don’t know when. But when we do, we’ll emerge better and stronger.