"If You're Going Through Hell, Keep Going"
Per Ohstrom
Fractional CMO and Partner | Servant Leader | B2B Marketing | Business Strategy | Industrial Services | Manufacturing | Commercial & Civil Construction | Board of Directors
The quote from Winston Churchill is true on many levels, and points to the leadership needed in a crisis. There are many crisis management lessons to be learned from the military. Here is my story.
I was fortunate to be interviewed in Authority Magazine in Medium.com by veteran and aviator Chris Quiocho. The subject was “How To Survive And Thrive During A Time Of Crisis; 5 Lessons I Learned From My Military Experience” -an excellent opportunity to think through how my arctic infantry officer experience shapes my approach to business leadership.
Some key points covered in the interview are:
- Importance of being level headed, and quickly evaluate how bad the situation really is
- Taking care of basic human needs so the organization can continue to function
- The most important thing a leader can do in a crisis is continue leading
- Communicate expectations and the task at hand
- Establishing structure and routines - a "new normal"
TIP FROM THE TRENCHES:
Spoiler alert: there really are no trenches anymore. Modern warfare is relying more on movement, surprise and firepower. Similarly, in business leaders have to be able to pivot, and seize opportunities when they present themselves.
Read the full interview here, feel free to comment and share if you like... Thanks!
Per Ohstrom is Chief Marketing Officer with Chief Outsiders. He would love to help you with difficult marketing or strategy issues. His profile page can be found here, and this is a link to past articles. #leadership #B2BMarketing #chiefoutsiders
Great summary and story within the broader article. I've always found it important for a marketing leader to quickly determine and optimize the role of the brand in a crisis so the brand becomes an ally or enabler to recovery (even emotional recovery).
Good Interview, Per!
Human Performance Practice Leader at Asplundh Tree Expert, LLC
4 年Good read Per. Interesting on each person’s comment on what they liked. The strongest comment to me is,” I learned the benefits of servant leadership. Things go a lot smoother if the officers eat last, both literally and figuratively!”
International Business Development (engineered products; industrial gases)
4 年Per, very impressive!
Commercial Lead & Partnerships | Innovation | Young People's Leadership | Novel Problem Solving
4 年Great insights, Per, thank you. You’ve identified two key vectors for this next phase of transition: leadership needs to provide skills, training, and clarity of intent. Then, everyday heroes can and will do their best work.??