Since last fall, businesses, both big and small, at times, have been flying blind, trying to avoid the unprecedented proliferation of economic hazards. Solutions that worked in the past to counter disruptions proved to be ineffective. The first reaction was to hunker down and prepare for the next wave of troubles, not knowing whether it was going to get uglier and uglier before it got better.
Executives in most cases did what it took to prepare, preserve market share, serve customers and save money like never before. Furloughs and outright permanent reductions in force were the actions du jour in this new era of dealing with the unknown.
A natural part of this survival mode was for management to remind employees how bad it was, how it could get even worse, and why everybody must pull together and do whatever it takes to fight another day. These battle cries included dire prognostications, some subtle and some not so subtle, that there could be more bad news on the horizon.
At this point, every employee on the planet, unless he or she has been working alone in a cave, gets it. They understand all too well that they should be thankful to have a job. People now know that the true definition of a recession is when their neighbor is out of work; a depression is when they are out of work. Today, everybody is worried about his or her job, future and economic well-being.
Enough is enough! It is time to take a break and count your organization’s blessings. It is time to tell your employees about what is good and what is working in the company. It’s time to recount the remembrances/milestones that contributed to your past successes — people that made a difference, events that changed your destiny.
Pick a day in the coming weeks and announce that your company is celebrating “good news day.” The objective is to commemorate the positives and recognize the successes. Remember, in the worst of the worst situations, there’s always something encouraging, even if it is only the fact that the company has still kept the lights on. Most organizations, however, have much to be optimistic about — be it a roster of clients (so what if they pay a little slowly), a proprietary process or technology, or a brand that people know and occasionally even buy.
