How Small Businesses Can Thrive in Uncertainty

Amidst global pandemic concerns, small business leaders are facing difficult times. Retail, travel, and hospitality industries are suffering; and many small businesses have shut down due to government mandates.

During these difficult times, I believe that small businesses, guided by strong leadership, will be key to revitalizing our economy towards a strong recovery. Now is the time for all small business leaders to reassess priorities, based on the current market demands on your company. Not sure where to start? Here’s how I am doing this at Eventide:

Love Your Customers By Loving Your Employees

Last week, I heard a business consultant remark in a podcast that this is a good time to be laying off underperformers, since there will be government support for such people. I was disappointed as I listened to what I consider very bad business advice. A business leader who uses the economy to cull employees they should have fired months or years ago is behaving like a coward. This behavior reflects poor leadership and a lack of effective employee performance improvement plans. As a business leader and business owner, I must be willing to internalize the cost of poor leadership rather than find convenient ways to push this cost onto society.

Instead, as a business leader, my number one priority is loving my employees. When my employees know that they are my priority, they are free to prioritize our customers rather than worry about self-preservation and security. To lead well, I must seek to offer job security and assurances about the future without overpromising. When I do this, I love my employees well and serve my customers best. Especially in this uncertain climate, Eventide will prioritize protecting our employees and customers. Whether your company goals are cybersecurity, retention and growth, or cost management, I believe when you determine your priorities with your employees in mind, your customers will also benefit.

Trust Your Team

In uncertain times, it is easy to question choices you have made in the past. Now is the time to trust that good hiring practices that you instituted over the past years will serve you well in crisis. I have hired great people over the years, people who are passionate about our mission, aligned with our values, and highly competent for the work that they do at Eventide. I must trust that they can do the job for which I hired them. To use a sports analogy, when a coach has players on the field who understand their framework and values, the coach can trust them to execute and stay within character, even when the game breaks down. Crisis is not the time to look at your team with skepticism, but with confidence. I am amazed by the leadership that I see being provided across Eventide’s departments, whether portfolio management, sales, marketing, technology, finance, compliance or human resources. As priorities shift and as the markets shift, you can continue to work as a team, articulating and executing on key priorities to keep your business on track.

Remain Nimble

Especially in times of uncertainty, it is vital that small businesses remain nimble and adaptive. Leaders can model this mindset by encouraging their people to be opportunistic and flexible. I have found that employees who come from large firms sometimes struggle with this when they join smaller firms. Likewise, employees who are planners or perfectionists naturally lean towards process and strategy and can resist moving in new and emerging directions. In these situations, leaders function to remind employees that plans and priorities sometimes must change quickly, especially in times like these. When Eventide began, we always knew our mission – our “why” – clearly. We didn’t always have the “how” figured out. Even as we have grown, I continue to lead Eventide in this way, working to be both opportunistic and strategic. As a result of the crisis, we have re-evaluated some initiatives while deploying additional resources towards our sales and marketing teams – so that we can serve our clients especially well during this crisis. We know serving our clients well during this difficult time is the right priority for the long run.

Keep Communicating

As priorities change, ensure that you are constantly communicating. I have learned over the years that you cannot overcommunicate as a small business leader. People start hearing usually when you are tired of saying it. Especially when employees and clients are feeling insecure and stressed, constant communication offers reassurance. Always be authentic and truthful. At Eventide, our Boston office has three conferences rooms and three collaboration rooms set up as “Zoom rooms.” Now that we are working virtually, we are still connecting on a daily basis through video using Zoom. I use Zoom video for even one-on-one calls. Whether replying quickly to emails or engaging in video calls, increased communication will signal your steady and accessible leadership in an unsteady season.

Trust the Foundation You’ve Built

Finally, with market changes happening every day, trust that your prudent financial management over the years will serve you well now. We have built bear, very bear, and extremely bear scenarios into our budgeting. In none of these scenarios is laying off our current people an approach to managing costs. When the markets seem uncertain, these prudent choices offer reassurance. And if the belt must tighten at some point, I believe that the CEO and leaders of an organization should sacrifice first. I am prepared to do so. I am confident we can weather challenging markets because of the choices we made years ago.

You Can Do This

These are difficult times, but you should believe that you will get through this. Focus on serving your employees and clients extremely well, and don’t cut corners in your high calling to love others. Your leadership in times like these will define you as a leader.

Robin John

CEO, Eventide Asset Management