Resources For Leaders To Navigate The Coronavirus Downturn

It’s easy to get sucked into a negative thought spiral during these unusual times. Fight the urge!

I’ve found encouragement and inspiration from these resources below, and I hope they help guide you and your business through this turbulent period.

Real Talk: What Winners Do In Times Of Crisis

On his Real AF podcast, entrepreneur and speaker Andy Frisella shares the incredible story of Coca-Cola during World War II to illustrate how brands must be innovative when the economy struggles. 

“Figure out how to thrive during a war-time economy, or die,” Frisella says. “I call this mentality Zero Options mentality. You have zero options. You either choose to find the good in the bad and you get visionary or innovative and you make the situation work for you, or it’s over. Period. If you don’t understand that and embrace that mentality during this Coronavirus chaos, you do not have the mindset of a winner.”

Listen to the full podcast episode here.

Peacetime CEO/Wartime CEO

Sticking with the war theme, investor Ben Horowitz of venture firm Andreessen Horowitz published this blog in 2011 that explains the different roles of CEOs based on the business climate.

“Peacetime in business means those times when a company has a large advantage vs. the competition in its core market, and its market is growing,” Horowitz says. “In times of peace, the company can focus on expanding the market and reinforcing the company’s strengths.

“In wartime, a company is fending off an imminent existential threat. Such a threat can come from a wide range of sources including competition, dramatic macro economic change, market change, supply chain change, and so forth.”

Our current bear market precipitated by the Coronavirus qualifies as “wartime” for many businesses. 

Read the full blog here.

Happy Talk Versus Hard Talk

David Sacks, the co-founder and general partner at Craft Ventures, is the former COO at Paypal and current investor in Airbnb, Eventbrite, Slack, and many other notable venture-backed companies.

He shared an article, “Happy Talk versus Hard Talk,” that draws from his years of experience working for and advising startups. His thesis is that in times of adversity, the worst thing leaders can do is sugarcoat the situation.

“A recurring problem — probably the #1 killer of startups — is Happy Talk, a basic failure to admit problems until it is too late,” Sacks says. “When people get Happy Talk instead of Hard Talk, it doesn’t reassure them. In fact, it does the opposite: It causes them to question the credibility of their leaders, which heightens their anxiety and makes them feel rudderless.”

Read the full article here.

List Of Covid Resources

Lastly, Andreessen Horowitz offers an extensive list of Coronavirus readings and resources to help businesses and individuals make smarter, more well-informed decisions during this downturn.

View the full list here.