Finding Strength Through The COVID19 Crisis: Guidance From A CEO

As COVID-19 changes everything we know about our life and work, I hope everyone is healthy and safe at home. Our world today faces a challenge unlike any we have ever witnessed in our lifetimes. The ripple effects, the social, and economic impact will be far-reaching and long term. The world will take a long time to recover.

I have spent a better part of my life running several businesses. Many of you [employees at Flock] have spent a better part of your lives working with me and for that, I am truly grateful. We have jointly witnessed and lived through the DotCom bust, 9/11, and the 2008 financial crisis. In all those situations and today, we all have a choice. We cannot control the external circumstances.

But we can control what we think and what we do.

We can control our perspective.

We can control the difference we make during these challenging times.

Your And Your Family’s Safety

During this crisis, you and your family’s safety matters to us most. Thanks to proactive steps taken by our HR team, we were amongst the first companies to issue a detailed master advisory and institute work from home drills. We encourage every one of you to ensure that you and your families maintain social distancing and stay safe. We are committed to helping you remain safe in every way we can.

Impact On The World

This crisis will have far-reaching implications globally. It is hard to predict the ripple effects and the extent of economic impact, however, I expect it will be of a larger magnitude than anything we have witnessed so far. Unlike some of the crises in the last few decades, this event will have an impact on every nook and corner of our communities. It requires courage at every level – individual and organizational to sail through this. We should evolve as the situation unfolds. You should be prepared to respond to the changes both in professional life and in your family life.

Personal Guidance

Here are a few principles to guide you during this time:

• Take the utmost care of the safety of your family. Don’t take any risks when it comes to their safety and follow all necessary precautions!
• Many people will need your help, and I urge you to extend a helping hand to the community.
• Do not hesitate to ask your friends, colleagues, and us for help anytime.
• Stay liquid. Do not get tempted to invest money in the markets or in unvalidated investment opportunities. Even the best experts cannot predict the bottom of the market or the long term impact and recovery timelines.
• Share – food, resources, time – whatever you can.
• Be empathetic, to friends, family, customers, team, vendors and everyone else. We are all in this together.

Business Guidance

Here are a few principles to guide your business decisions during this time. This is applicable to every individual in the company:

• Cash flow is king. The better our cash flow the healthier our business will be.
• Reduce unnecessary burn in your daily business decisions and look for cost effective ways to get things done.
• This is your company. You are the steward. Let us know if you think we should be doing something differently.
• Increase efficiency and productivity. I know this is even more challenging in current times due to remote work, but I also know we can flex and deliver on it.
• Hope for the best but be prepared for the worst. Ensure that we know the worst-case scenario and are ready for it.
• If you are a manager – take care of your team. They need you more than they normally would.

Our Commitment

I along with my leadership team commit to the following

• We have and will always prioritize the safety of all of you and your families above anything else in all our decisions.
• We will, with your support, do our best to conserve cash flow to ensure that any potential implications to our people is the last resort ever. We do not currently anticipate any near term impact on people as a direct result of this crisis.
• We will work hard, alongside all of you, to get through this together, with no compromise to our long term vision.

I wake up each day, and remain as excited as ever, knowing this too shall pass, thrilled to be working with all of you, and humbled by your support, conviction, and trust in all of us. Together – we will change the world.

[This post first appeared on the Flock blog and has been reposted with permission.]