When the Going gets Tough, the Tough gets Going
J.A. Chiang
Head, FIR-ST? Corporate Ventures. Former EY Accounting Advisory Managing Partner. Storyteller, venture builder, creative problem solver, experienced "10th man", certified sake sommelier and digital growth advocate.
Kindness to our team-mates and to each other matters. Many of us work with large organisations driven by statistics and generic numbers. We have employee numbers or national identity numbers or social security numbers. Sometimes, we do forget that behind each number lies an individual with feelings, with a story, with their own set of problems and joys, with a unique set of experiences and skills.
Look through the statistics and into the individual, reach out to them and see how they are doing. Fear is a very substantive emotion that many people are feeling today : fear of the virus, fear for their loved ones, fear of losing their job, fear whether they can take care of their children and so on. So, be generous with your time and be real about listening to them and their story. Sometimes all they need is a listening ear so that they can gather themselves, strengthen their resolve and get going again in life.
When the going gets tough, then tough gets going.