A day after I spoke to an association group last week, one of the CEOs wrote me that she had already taken some of the nuggets from the meeting and used them to prompt a discussion with her leadership team.
She shared “We had a great discussion and talked about how some of our best ideas have come from times of chaos and uncertainty!”
Also last week, the CEO of a manufacturing company told me that while supply chain disruptions have been a major headache, the disruptions have enabled his company to become a qualified supplier to several new customers. These customers are desperate now for alternate sources and very open to talking to his salespeople. “And yet I look at my competitors and it just looks like they are sitting on their hands. I don’t get it.”
The lesson here is two-fold: 1) tough times can present opportunities and 2) those opportunities can be realized by leaders who can move quickly.
At the height of the pandemic and on a day that the stock market had cratered, I called a client who is the CEO of a large wealth management company. I thought he might need some encouragement. I was wrong. He was ecstatic. The message from him was that times like these do not come often and we need to take full advantage.
And that is still the message today. Take time to look for the opportunities. Pick a couple of them to pursue with enthusiasm.
Times are changing. Thank goodness.
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