Military doctrine and lessons companies should apply during the COVID-19 crisis.

Many veterans have the training your company needs to help calm the fears of your employees and customers.

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A crisis can strike any country or company without warning resulting in stress and change that cannot be resolved by routine procedures. A crisis can slash stock values and escalate operating costs, causing both short- and long-term financial losses. A mismanaged crisis can also damage a company's reputation and diminish consumer confidence, if not crush it altogether. Moreover, a company in the middle of a crisis tends to be defensive and thus is vulnerable to attack by its competitors. In this case, your competitors are in the same crisis which can complicate matters because stakeholders (consumers, investors, government) may judge how you respond by comparing you with your competition. 

In the military we develop contingency plans and do risk assessments to mitigate the impact a crisis may have on the country when a crisis arises. In addition, we train to be prepared to go on the offense even when encountering biological threats. Is your company prepared to go on the offensive or are you in a defensive posture right now?

No matter your opinion on COVID-19, the bottom line is we are in a crisis and the severity of the crisis does not need to be measured by deaths. In 1999, I lead a team in the Army that developed doctrine on how to plan for military operations that was tested in Iraq and Afghanistan by the Army and Marine Corps. I applied this doctrine as part of my planning process when I ran the Army Strong Campaign and in every job since leaving service.

While most people think about the military destroying an opponent, we also use terms like neutralize, suppress or obscure as well. We can neutralize an opponent by taking away their logistics or communications, suppress their ability to fight by simply firing at them so they take cover, or obscure their ability to see us by moving at night or using a smoke screen. COVID-19 is attacking us; some parts of the country are seeing people die (destroy), others sick (neutralize), some working from home while no signs of the virus are in their area or focusing on reactions to the virus rather than the day to day mission of your company (suppress), while some employees are out on the town celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day because of conflicting stories in the news (obscure). This is what our enemy, COVID-19 is doing to us.

Crises are indeed hazardous to firms, but there are two sides to the coin. They may bring out the best in a corporation. Though suffering some loss is almost unavoidable, a well-managed resolution can minimize the duration of the crisis, enhance a socially responsible corporate image, and secure long-term profitability. Crises may also unite employees in the fight against adversity and boost their morale. Although crises reveal drawbacks, they can also reveal areas for improvement and even stimulate innovative ideas. For better or worse, the difference is a matter of good crisis management.

Managing a crisis can be as tough as fighting a war. Although it is popular to apply military strategies in business competition, executives should pay special attention to friend-foe identification and use of intelligence when applying military theories to crisis management. Many tend to identify all opposing parties (mostly competitors) as foes. However, interacting with various stakeholder groups and the mass media is much more complicated in crisis management. Consumers, government, and the media may act in an adverse manner, but the firm still has to rely on them in resolving the crisis. Therefore, friend-foe identification tends to be more ambiguous. The firm must search for solutions that satisfy various parties. Collaborative strategies are superior to competitive ones.

Let’s talk about three things that your company can do to get ahead of this crisis; plan, mitigate risks to the company, and protect your employees.

“A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week.”

— General George S. Patton

PLANNING

Planning is the art and science of understanding a situation, envisioning a desired outcome, and identifying- effective ways of bringing that future about. In the military, “planning helps commanders create and communicate a common vision among themselves, their staffs, subordinate commanders, and unified action partners.” Although the military uses the Military Decision Making Process (MDMP), a formal planning process with detailed steps but also with an abbreviated version, I am only going to address a product of the process that companies could use to guide their own process.

As part of the written plan, or operation order, we include a vision statement and a series of key tasks that must be accomplished. We do this because we understand that no plan withstands first contact. In other words, while we have a plan, so does our enemy, and we must be prepared to adapt quickly, and a vision statement helps everyone in the organization understand where we must be at the conclusion of the operation. To help accomplish this vision we develop key tasks. Key tasks are those tasks we must accomplish in order to be successful and failure to achieve these tasks may require the commander to alter their plan.

We typically define these key tasks in terms of Task (Friendly Forces), Purpose (Impact on Enemy Forces), Method (How we will accomplish the tasks with certain specifications categorized as priorities, allocations and restrictions) with a designated Endstate (we use effects in the military) that is measurable to help people know when the task is complete.

Figure 1 provides an example of what this could look like.

Figure 1

RISK ASSESSMENT

In the military we conduct risk assessments to identify potential threats and ways to mitigate those risks. In the Army we conduct these assessments for military operations and even do them for soldiers going on a weekend pass where we would look at things like drive time, weather, etc. In a time of a crisis it is important to do risk assessments because we are deviating from how we normally conduct business and therefore this could expose our business, employees and customers to risks we would not normally encounter.

I’ve been told you can’t lead in a company like you do in the military, but now is the time to do just that. In the military we care about our people on and off duty. Are you advising your employees how to stay healthy outside of work? Do you know who may have someone at home who is at high risk for COVID-19? In the military we have single parents develop a plan on who will take care of their child if they are deployed. Are you helping your employees plan what they will do if they get sick? Are they caring for someone who might need assistance? These are questions for us to be considering now to take care of each other.

As you look at the risk assessment it addresses the health of customers and employees but also considers the impact on the brand of not having products your customers desire. If a customer comes to the store and wants to buy ten of a certain product that means nine other customers may not get anything. Which is more damaging to your brand and which creates a perception you are not in control? This is an example of short-term vs. long-term thinking that a crisis brings out and without having considered the options and provided some guidance could result in a negative impact for the company.

Going back to the point earlier, collaborative strategies are superior to competitive ones, as you think about mitigating risks to customers are you providing them information on competitors who may be able to offer a product that you are out of? If you have ever seen Miracle on 34th Street you have the idea of the good will you can create by helping customers find what they need even when it benefits your competition.

Figure 2 provides an example of how a retail company could use the US Army risk assessment form for COVID-19.

Figure 2

MISSION ORIENTED PROTECTIVE POSTURE (MOPP)

Without people, you cannot accomplish the mission. You need to help your employees stay safe during this process and to instill confidence that you are going to protect them. We cannot shut down access to health care, food, water, etc. in this country and we need to ensure the people on the front lines are protected. In the military we conduct Nuclear, Biologic, and Chemical training and use different MOPP levels that everyone understands. It identifies what you must wear or carry and when it is used.

As you think about the face-to-face interaction that must occur with your customers you must think innovatively on how to reduce contact and the possibility to pass the virus from person to person to include down to the types of materials in the store someone who is infected could touch. Many stores are wiping down lots of surfaces in areas where there is no sign of the virus; is this sustainable for the next eight weeks or longer?

Figure 3 is an example of how a retail company could create MOPP levels too help protect employees and customers from COVID-19. This is a simplified version and therefore companies should provide serious consideration on not only the number of levels you need but the categories required.

Figure 3

Communication

Last but not least, communication is a key part of execution. If your employees do not know the plan and how to mitigate risks to themselves and your consumers, then your plan has a higher likelihood of failure. If your consumers do not know what you are doing, then you are not helping to dispel their concerns, and this is the opportunity for your competition to take away your business.

Veterans have the training you need in a crisis

Many military veterans have training conducting planning, risk assessments and MOPP exercises. We have run operations centers in high pressure training scenarios and real world situations. We are used to making life or death decisions. Given the opportunity your veterans will gladly step up to help. We raised our hands to defend the country against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and few of us have rejected that oath since hanging up our uniforms. We want to serve in this time of crisis. Just ask us how we think we can help.

Why did I write this?

I’m a consumer and a father of a son in high school who works at a grocery store. I want to know they are taking care of him and indirectly protecting the rest of my family. As the virus gets worse, and it will, I need to know that if my elderly in-laws have to move in with us until this is over, that I don’t have to worry about my son bringing the virus into our home. Sure, we could just tell him to quit, but what if every hourly worker in grocery stores and health care facilities decided to walk away from their work? What I am suggesting is that companies should stand up a crisis reaction team and include veterans. They will accelerate your learning based on their experience. If the company where my son works promoted what they are doing to protect customers as well as my son they would earn my trust and loyalty and that would last far longer than this virus.

There are lots of concerned Americans, you can go on the offensive by promoting what you will do to protect your employees and customers and earn their trust and loyalty and in the process, their business.

Disclaimer: This article does not reflect the views of my employer or the military and the ideas are solely my own. Sorry for any typos, but this was written quickly since I felt the subject was time sensitive.