Ezequiel Kieczkier, founding partner at Olivia, and Gabriel Weinstein, partner and Europe managing partner at Olivia, recently co-authored their book Crisis & Co.
In the prevailing landscape of volatility and uncertainty, the capacity of organizations to adapt emerges as a fundamental differentiator. Ezequiel Kieczkier, founding partner at Olivia, and Gabriel Weinstein, partner and Europe managing partner at Olivia, explore this dynamic in depth in their recent book Crisis & Co.
The investigation outlined in this study reveals crucial strategies for confronting and overcoming business crises. According to Kieczkier and Weinstein, the key to transforming adversity into a competitive advantage lies in cultural change. While many businesses opt for reactive and survival strategies in times of crises, the ones that truly distinguish themselves are those that embrace a distinct and proactive approach.
“Culture eats strategy for breakfast,” states Kieczkier, echoing the renowned words of Peter Druker, and highlighting the importance of fostering a business culture that encourages identifying opportunities in times of crisis. This entails more than just cost adjustments; it involves instigating a profound cultural shift in the organization’s leadership model, processes, and tools.
While uncertainty is a global phenomenon, Argentine businesses have acquired invaluable experience in crisis management due to their country’s enduring instability. This practice has equipped these organizations with distinctive adaptation and survival skills when compared to more economically stable environments.
“We’ve been able to substantiate that organizations within the same industry and of comparable scale can yield markedly different results, depending on their culture and conduct when addressing a situation,” emphasize Kieczkier and Weinstein.
They add, “What we encounter most frequently are strategies inclined towards cost-cutting and defensive measures in crisis scenarios in order to survive the situation. These reactive approaches, with a mindset of survival, almost always lead to substantial failures.”
The “crisis mindset” highlighted in the book is based on four pillars: a focus on opportunity, constant movement, speed of learning, and resilience. To apply this mindset within a local context, the book proposes key questions that guide the identification of opportunities, enable progress without losing momentum, foster skill development for seizing opportunities, and facilitate the transformation of fear into knowledge and strength.
Leaders who thrive in turbulent times exhibit specific behaviors, including integrity, adept stress management, and the courage to take calculated risks. They also embrace a leadership style that prioritizes serving their teams, establishing credibility and authority through the consistent alignment of their words and actions.
“Argentina’s starting point differs from that of organizations from other countries. This data emerges from the analysis of habits, practices, and resilience levels of each business when facing a situation of this nature,” state Kieczkier and Weinstein. They illustrate this distinction by contrasting Chile’s 30 years of economic stability, where organizations resolved problems and devised solutions in real time and with less experience, while Argentine businesses created survival and success skills.
However, the implementation of durable changes during a crisis requires a deep-seated cultural change within the organization. Temporary strategies are not enough. Organizations need to redefine the deeply ingrained beliefs within the organizational culture for these changes to become an inherent part of the business’ operations.
The role of leadership in turbulent times
When dealing with turbulence, the defining attributes of a successful leader in challenging times play a pivotal role in establishing authority and achieving extraordinary results. According to Kieczkier and Weinstein, these behavioral patterns are crucial for effective performance in times of uncertainty. “Stress management becomes imperative in prolonged crisis situations, such as the COVID-19 pandemic or extended conflicts, as failure to do so can result in exhaustion among individuals and teams, ultimately impacting performance.”
The book aims to explain that, in challenging environments, the boldness and courage for taking risks with control are key characteristics. It's not a call for recklessness but an advocacy for making innovative decisions and entrusting responsibilities to teams within a leadership framework of service. This approach fosters creativity and shares the burden of responsibility. According to the authors, these traits not only define a successful leader but also set the difference in the organization’s final outcomes, especially during critical moments.
“Leaders that drive successful companies in processes of crisis possess marked traits. Leaders that operate under crisis mindsets find themselves at the service of their team: they encourage the team over the individual instead of acting as solo heroes,” they explain.
The goal is for the change to be sustainable
In order to guarantee that the implemented change be sustainable, regardless of the contextual crisis, a thoughtful consideration of change processes is crucial, grounded in the notion of cultural transformation. This means that if we wish to obtain a different result, the cultivation of new behaviors is crucial. But for these behaviors to permeate culture, a fundamental shift in foundational beliefs is required—a reevaluation of the assumptions that underpin daily conduct or those the organization genuinely believes will sustain the change.
“The companies that successfully adjusted their value proposition to address emerging social tensions and evolving needs seized a unique market opportunity. However, for this adaptive approach to evolve into a culture deeply attuned to consumers, collaborators, or the general public, with a design centered on the user, a singular listening mechanism is not enough," say Kieczkier and Weinstein. They add:
“Continuous listening to our clients, consumers, and collaborators while constantly adapting our value proposition is crucial for obtaining a competitive advantage.”
The model introduced in Crisis & Co isn't confined to addressing the perpetual uncertainty in Argentina. Today, uncertainties are surfacing globally, from the conflict in Ukraine to nuclear threats, energy crises, and the hastening pace of climate change, among other challenges," note Kieczkier and Weinstein. “We are constantly met with new challenges regarding how to cope with uncertainty,” say Kieczkier and Weinstein.
Read the original article published on Forbes here.
