Strategy in the eye of the storm
Experience from 2008
Photo by Willian Justen de Vasconcellos on Unsplash
The ongoing crisis and the uncertainty we have experienced in recent weeks, remind me of my experience from the Icelandic banking crisis in 2008. I took on the role as a Managing Director of one of Iceland’s leading Investment Management units the day after a total collapse of the Icelandic banking system as well as a wipe out of the local equity market and severe damage to the corporate bond market. This was ironically the highest-ranking role I had reached, but I had no time to celebrate since there was total confusion and uncertainty about the future. The situation was in fact so bad that it was a joke among my team that I had accepted the position.
In the beginning, our focus was on saving what could be saved and try to minimize the damage for our clients. I ran between meetings trying to put out fires and solve numerous big problems like: dealing with closed mutual funds, uncertainty of value of most assets, complex issues and uncertainty with regard to execution of transactions and very tough conversations with the clients and their lawyers, furious, demanding answers.
For our team it was hard not to become numb with all the negativity on the client side, not to mention refreshing online news portals only to find more bad news and pessimism. We were stuck in a nightmare with no light at the end of the tunnel and in total uncertainty about the future.
After a few weeks I was still doing my best to extinguish fires and minimize the damage, but my CEO was always mentioning that I should do a strategy project with my team. Since I was overloaded I first tried to ignore her advise, but since she didn't stop. My reaction became more firm against it, arguing that you don‘t do a strategy project in the middle of a firefighting crisis. She in turn became even firmer, ordering me to find the time for it.
I accepted and found time for the strategy work in the eye of the storm. Looking back, this was the best thing we could have done at that point in time. In the strategy work we established a clearer picture of the situation and a broader perspective, which was the key to tackling the crisis and start rebuilding the foundation of our business. The strategy process established a platform for us to discuss and articulate the situation, following up with creating a mutual vision and strategic initiatives. The process created hope and a light at the end of the tunnel for the whole team. The project unleashed positive energy, team morale improved drastically as well as the belief in the project, which laid the new foundation and successful turnaround of our business.
After this experience I would argue that running a strategic initiative could be one of the most important tools for teams to tackle the uncertainty and challenges many businesses are facing around the world today.
