Are You A “Wartime Consigliari” For Your Organization?

All of us are fighting a war for our collective wellbeing and maybe even more. Our companies are facing a business landscape that has changed overnight. So the question is – what can we – as individuals and teams - do to help our companies? Would it take a different kind of temperament, skill-set or leadership to succeed in this prevailing business environment?

There are a couple of historical (real or fictional) examples that come to mind. Churchill was rated as an average peacetime leader – but he was really in his elements during the wartime. Of course, in Godfather when it was time to “go to the mattress” – it was time to change the Consigliari. ( goodbye Tom Hagen)

I believe all of us have a “Wartime Consigliari” within us. How do we bring that out? Here are some suggestions from me

• A wartime Consigliari is not a worrywart - Every day we wake up and see different degrees of bad news. We cannot dwell over it. Whether we watch it or not, bad and good news will always be there. We cannot afford negative sentiments at this time. Leave those behind.
  
  
• A war time Consigliari thinks differently - Business models are changing. Everyone is finding a new way to conduct their business – from online Tae Kwon do classes to “contact-less” implementations of Virtual assistants. This is the time to re-invent. This is not business as usual. Usual is not going to cut it. This is the time to bring the changes that you always wanted or changes that your company needed. Speak out. Make it happen.
  
  
• A war-time Consigliari takes tough decisions – If your business needs to “pivot” – so be it. DO it sooner rather than later. See the writing on the wall and be ready to change. I am willing to bet a pretty penny that “Pivot” becomes the most often used word in the next 6 months! ( move over “paradigm” and “transformation”)
  
  
• A war-time Consigliari is strong – On a personal note, you need to stay fit. I know we are all cooped up and hunkered down. Time to find the right apps that work for you and get/stay fit. This is war, and we need to stay strong, capisce?Together we will beat this virus. Good luck – and enjoy your cannoli.
  
  

Manish Sharma