Feeling a Bit Crazy? Here’s Some Advice On Surviving Crunch-Time

I recently saw a great cartoon. With 3 seconds to play, a scoreboard shows the home team behind by one point in the fourth quarter. It’s fourth down with the football on the 10-yard line.

The home team is huddled and the captain says “OK team. It’s crunch time. Let’s get fully distracted by noise and pressure. Forget the fundamentals and throw out the playbook. We can do this!”

Yes, the cartoon is funny. Or is it? How many times have you seen a business take this approach when the next coolest idea surfaces, even though that idea is completely outside the company’s purpose? Perhaps this crunch-time tactic takes over when multiple challenges arise without any readily available responses.

What does your company do in these situations? Recently, one of the leadership teams with whom I work described their previous quarter as “crazy.” They then described all the things that went sideways, leading to multiple challenges.

What did they say when I asked them how they managed the quarter -– “we looked back at the foundation you helped us establish.”

Here is what that foundation includes:

Build the Right Team – Starting with the leadership team, get the right people in the right seats on each team within the company.

Align to the Right Vision – Build a compelling vision with 100% clarity around the company’s core values, purpose, and #1 goal.

Create the Right Plan – Bring that vision down to the ground with a clear and accountable roadmap to get there.

Execute with Consistency – Execute your playbook, meeting structures, scoreboard, and people practices to facilitate growth.

Their results?  They accomplished 100% of their Rocks, made every business decision with their purpose in mind, and focused on the processes that allowed everyone to do what they do well. These actions yielded consistent results, and they ended the quarter stronger than they started. I can hardly call that crazy!

When things feel out of control, it is a natural human response to want the issues to be resolved as soon as possible. We can get caught up in the chaos of the moment and forget the larger purpose behind what we are doing. This is why a strong foundation is essential to survive crunch-time scenarios. Taking the time to collaboratively form these blocks with your team will help you in the long run.

Interested in working together to help your team thrive through growth and uncertainty? Fill out the consult form below. I’ll contact you with a choice of times to connect, where we will instantly start building the foundation that will support your organization for years to come.