Under pressure

Due to corona I enjoyed a staycation and last week we decided to visit the “Yser Tower” a monument that was build to never forget WWI&II and all of the young and brave soldiers who lost their lives. The Tower literally has signs in different languages saying “no more war”. No better time to explain our children some of our history...

On the parking lot, an older gentleman is taking a little bit extra time to park. The guy in the car waiting behind him starts screaming, yelling, kicking doors and eventually beating the elder man.

I doubted a moment to try to explain the irony of his action at this special place, but I decided to let it go.

When you put pressure on a system, whether it’s an organisation, a company, a country, or a society the weakest parts will be the first to crack. And any system will reveal it’s true value.

That’s why the European Union but even so (or maybe worse) the Belgian governance structure proofs so inefficient in dealing with this crisis (5 ministers of face masks, really?). Of course the governance structure is slow to learn and even more slower to change as no one has the courage to really bite down in the hands that feeds them.

Dealing with pressure requires your foundation, structure, culture and resilience to be ready for it.  For private companies, ultimately, this will be what decides if they survive or not.  But it’s equally true for you. How’s your foundation? Structure? Resilience?

Don’t be the guy or girl screaming and kicking doors. It’s very costly, looks ridiculous  and it’s not effective at all. We have enough politicians proving just that. Be the one that actually learns from the situation and comes out stronger.

It’s not to late.