Our Founder & CEO, George Carras, shares his insights on crisis management and reminds us that our individual actions will impact our overall outcome.
This formula is so important to R-LABS that we put it up on our wall for everyone to see. It was created with inspiration from Dan Sullivan and Andre Kuzmicki when we were in the midst of the Global Financial Crisis. In delivering our keynote to RealEstate Forum in 2008, Andre and I offered context and recommendations to the real estate industry on the then expanding Financial Crisis:
Crisis is not what defines us; what defines us is how we handle it. And how we handle it comes down to two things: 1) surviving it and 2) using it to make us stronger.
This is as true today as it was 11 years ago. In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, we need to ask ourselves how we will tackle the challenges ahead and learn from this experience. I urge you to think carefully about how you will respond to the COVID-19 crisis and consider the following as you navigate this event:
Surviving it: This is about what choices you make today in the midst of the pandemic. Please take that seriously by avoiding the risks and doing your part to flatten the curve. Be the learner here and not the lesson.
Using it to make us stronger: While the combined health and economic issues of COVID-19 represent unprecedented challenges, it’s also started unprecedented conversations between government, industry and consumers. The innovation and collaborations taking place on both an individual and team level will help us grow stronger together.
As Rahm Emanuel said, “Never let a serious crisis go to waste.” Consider how new processes, capabilities and platforms can empower your organization. Think about how we can adapt as an industry and what will enable us to better respond to the events ahead.
Our individual responses will determine our overall outcome and like all events in our built environments, we’ll face the events of COVID-19 together – so let’s learn together. If you have a moment, I’d love to hear how you and your organization are innovating and collaborating during this event.
Remember that, now more than ever, the best way to predict the future is to help create it.
