THE FOUR HAZARDS OF UNPREDICTABLE TIMES

Failure to Execute You’ve thought through the crisis. You have your strategy. Now the question is, can your teams execute? Will they? Some people in your organization are getting it done. Some aren’t and probably never will. Then there’s the great middle—how much more could they contribute if they performed more like those who are getting it done?

Crisis of Trust
Levels of trust drop in uncertain times. Securities markets plunge due to crisis of confidence. People lose confidence in their own organizations. On an uncertain road full of pitfalls, everyone decelerates: it’s not called a “slowdown” for nothing.

Loss of Focus
You have fewer resources, fewer people, more confusion. People try to do two or three jobs at once. A person trying to do two jobs has half the focus of a person doing one job, and half the likelihood of doing either job well.

Pervasive Fear
Economic recession causes psychological recession. People fear losing jobs, retirement savings, even their homes. It’s “piling on.” And it cost you. Just when you need people to focus and engage, they lose focus and disengage.

From "Predictable Results in Unpredictable Times" by Stephen R. Covey and Bob Whitman