How to navigate through crisis and come out stronger

Throughout my nearly 25-year professional career at Philips, I have had the opportunity to perform in various roles in different parts of the world, cultures and markets. There have always been crises – smaller ones or bigger ones – that my teams and I have had to overcome. Crises are difficult to navigate, but you can get out of them. The question we ask ourselves is: how do you get out of a crisis without getting stuck?

? Respect the moment your people are going through immediately following a crisis or event. In my role as country manager in the Philippines, I had to respond to the largest and most devastating typhoon in the country's history. As a team, we had to rebuild the business, but at the same time our people had to be able to be with their families and help their people, their country. Although crises are collective, each person goes through them and experiences them differently. Be close to your team and your customers supporting them to go through it.

? No experience is like the other. While there are certain components of crises that are similar, there is nothing identical to another occurrence. In the Philippines, a country with many climatic events, typhoons are a given every year. However, even knowing that, nothing can ever prepare you for what is coming. You learn some things from the past, but in the end, you have to make a lot of decisions during crises based on a more generic situation than you had in the past and a lot of intuition. Trust that you are doing your best in that moment.

? Crises can accelerate the need for other things. For example, the current COVID-19 pandemic is accelerating the need for access to the health system, especially in Latin American countries. You have to be prepared to be able to meet the needs efficiently and quickly, without hurting other aspects of the business. A good balance between delivering the NOW without forgetting the FUTURE is key

? Once you get out of the emergency stage, distance yourself. You have to get off the dance floor and go to the balcony to take a deep breath and say, 'what impact will it have for us in the future?' We must identify what we need to change in our priorities, because the world changed. You can't keep doing the same things you did before the crisis. Behaviors change. People change. So, change the businesses post a crisis. Mostly, for much better. We should never waste a good crisis. For example, now with COVID-19, some positive behaviors came to stay, such as Telemedicine

? Responses to crises are gradual and changes must be made little by little. The best way to navigate the changes is to put a realistic and achievable goal ahead and measure along the way. You have to eat a steak in small pieces! If you try to change something radically, it is something very difficult. Crises like the COVID-19 pandemic can help things move exponentially, but most of the change as individuals is easier to do in small steps. Plan. Do. Check. Act.

You always have to put the tools together to get out of the crisis, but you come out stronger when you do. To grow, you go through painful moments, but these are moments of great learning. ‘In a calm sea, everybody can be captain of a boat. It is in rough waters that you see who are the good ones’.

At Philips we understand that our employees need to be supported to develop to their full potential. We are always looking for people who want to join inspiring teams with innovative challenges. Interested in a career at Philips Brazil? Visit www.philips.com/carreiras For the rest of LATAM you can visit www.philips.com/carreras

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