Leaning into Crisis and Learning

I just finished a book titled, “The Prepared Leader: Emerge from Any Crisis More Resilient Than Before,” by Erika James.  While she wrote the book about the COVID Pandemic, the author offers that crisis is nearly constant. She wrote, “crises always happen, time and time again.”  

It reminded me of the lunch I shared with my dad, a few days after I purchased the company, in 2007.  He asked me how I was doing, and I said it felt like there were “three really big things facing the company.” He responded by saying that it is always like that.  I said, “I know, but these feel like three really big things.”  My dad took a sip of his soup and looked over at me, as he leaned over the bowl. “There will always be three really big things,” he said in a stern warning of caution.

I guess, like Erika James, my dad was saying, crises always happen.  My experience, as a business owner over the past two decades, has been more cyclical. I certainly think crises continue to present themselves. Some are global, like the market crash in 2008 and the pandemic. To me, they feel more like the tide. As the author, and Clinical Psychologist, Shefali Tsabary shared in her book, “The Awakened Family,” the tide comes in and the tide goes out, and we still have this great big, beautiful ocean. To me, times are great, and times are tough. And we still have this beautiful company, the amazing people who choose to represent EDSI, and the exciting opportunities that await our lives tomorrow.  

Of course, it is easier to reflect about a crisis than it is to experience one. It is truly difficult to walk in the center of the storm. Erika James writes about the importance of learning from each crisis, in order to be more prepared for the next one.  

I think we have to zoom out to see the fuller perspective of what can be learned. While more challenging, zooming out during a crisis helps the choices you make and your ability to learn. For example, in sports, you can call a timeout to gather yourself or the team. During that time, you zoom out to see the larger picture, communicate clearly and calmly, and learn.​​​​​​​

I remember when my high school basketball coach, “Smokin’ Joe” Charnley, told us that we were going to make mistakes. That was okay. When we did, he would call us over, and tell us about the mistake we made. If you make the same mistake again, he said, you’ll be sitting next to me on the bench, thinking about that mistake for a while.” He wanted us to learn in the same way Erika James wants leaders to learn from crisis.

While none of us wanted Smokin’ Joe to pull us out of the game, reflection is a powerful tool. If you do not have a high school coach benching you for some forced reflection time, how can you build reflection into your routine? Think about the last time you faced a crisis. Look at how you came through that situation. Think about how resilient you have been throughout your life. Nelson Mandela said, “I have never lost. I have only won, or I have learned.”

How can we learn from crisis? How can we learn from our mistakes? Can we emerge more powerful and prepared?

I hope you feel like you have emerged from the pain of the pandemic. While we can all take inventory of our losses, I hope you have also logged what you have learned. Don’t try to put things back the way they used to be. Change is constant and crisis will occur again. I hope you feel stronger from your experiences. I hope you can leverage the learning that comes from your mistakes.

EDSI is a great company. I know we will struggle at times, and I know we will face additional challenges. I also know how much you all care about the work we do and the people we serve. Let us continue to live our values and learn from each other every day. Let us work together to apply our learning toward an even better way to make a difference in the lives of others.

Thanks for reading. Please take great care of yourselves and one another.  

Very sincerely, Kevin