Just a few months into my tenure as CEO, the world stopped.
As the pandemic took hold and business leaders scrambled to adapt, Ben Horowitz’s memorable “wartime CEO” blog resurfaced, with commentators referencing it as a playbook for the battle ahead. But while this defensive approach may work for a war waged against competitors, it doesn’t quite meet the moment we were thrust into last March.
In the post, he paints a picture of a militant, laser-focused leader who is “completely intolerant of deviations from the plan,” “rarely speaks in a normal tone,” and “neither indulges consensus building nor tolerates disagreements.” Frankly, the description makes working for this type of CEO sound like a war of its own — bleak, frustrating and suffocating.
This crisis (and the many other events of the past year) has not only presented external business challenges, but forced us to question the way we live, operate and work. The digital transformation and long-term culture shifts we’d been planning were suddenly at our door. Rather than go on the defensive against the threats posed by the pandemic, this was — and is — an opportunity to be proactive, working toward a long-term vision and reshaping how we work.
My perspective doesn’t come from an untested position. At Brooks Bell, a large portion of our clients work in travel and hospitality, and the pandemic hit us hard. While they were forced to cancel or cut contracts, they also needed our help more than ever. But rather than push me toward a narrow focus on survival, this “war” has reinforced the importance of leading with humanity and core values.
The nature of business and professional life is changing — a “wartime CEO” must be transparent, creative and nimble enough to acknowledge this reality and adapt. As we’ve gone through a year of surprises, setbacks and new challenges, I’ve relied on a few simple concepts. These principles have carried us through crisis and will illuminate our path toward peacetime and beyond.
Lead with Empathy
The hierarchy of needs in any organization should start and end with people being people. In times of “peace” and crisis, empathy is essential to building a culture that endures. Executives must treat their employees as humans and as adults. Your team members’ humanity and unique perspectives are your organization’s greatest strength, not obstacles to achieving your goals.
Meeting internal needs should be a priority for the same reason you are advised to put on your own mask first during in-flight emergencies — you can’t help others if you don’t first help yourself. At Brooks Bell, this idea informed the “being there” initiative that we rolled out in the early weeks of the pandemic. This approach focused on taking care of our families, clients and industry, in that order. It worked because it was a strategy driven by empathy, not economics. Here’s what it looked like:
- Families: Although businesses faced many unanswered questions, there were exponentially more for employees. From tracking down masks to becoming homeschool teachers to solving internet issues, employees needed time to figure things out and the flexibility to find the schedule that worked for them.
- Clients: While many clients canceled or paused their contracts, they still had the same amount of work as before. We supported them by taking a bespoke approach to each company, offering support at no cost to keep the lights on and special services to help them navigate new territory.
- Industry: We weren’t the only company in uncharted waters. In the past year, we’ve focused on ways we could help steer our community through this crisis. We launched virtual roundtables, introduced a Slack group for digital leaders and highlighted the benefits of our “Forever Free” illuminate Insights tool.
This year also highlighted the importance of addressing the inter-employee differences in personality, workstyle and communication preferences. A single sentence in a huddle might inspire one employee and terrify another, and this impact is only magnified in a remote-only environment. Factoring in qualities like DiSC style (high i and D here — my caution is outsourced), we became hyperware of what and how we communicated. Messages should be clear and reassuring to all employees, not just the personality types on the executive team.
Model Transparency
I don’t have all the answers. And while Horowitz might label this admission a fatal flaw in a “wartime CEO,” I think it’s unhelpful to pretend otherwise. I have a smart, experienced executive team whose counsel helps inform important decisions. It’s not a sign of weakness for a CEO to not know the answer — in fact, I’d argue an unwillingness to hear other opinions is the real weakness.
Transparency is essential for leaders hoping to build trust with their team. Being honest with our employees enables me to take a stand and make bold decisions, and troubleshoot internally if it doesn’t work out. Some initiatives are bound to fail. But I believe if we openly discuss where we came up short and ask, “Are there other ways to do this?” we can make that failure productive.
In a time as chaotic and unpredictable as the past year, my openness gives employees permission to do the same and it allows us to work together to find solutions. As our company’s chief executive, I hold tremendous responsibility for our employees and their livelihoods. I realize that my decisions have a direct impact on how they’re able to pay rent, pursue passions or provide for their families. By sharing my perspective and the calculations that play into company decisions, I hope to empower employees to be honest about their needs and concerns before they balloon into something larger.
This level of vulnerability doesn’t excuse bad decisions, or take away my responsibility. Decisions and their consequences still fall on me, but this honesty helps foster a growth mindset. Our team knows that one mistake doesn’t define their career, and that excellence as an organization requires acknowledging and learning from failures. Transparency builds trust and paves the way for tough conversations — neither of which can happen if I pretend I have all the answers.
Make Mission-Based Decisions
There isn’t a single playbook to successfully survive “war.” That’s because survival looks different for every business, and every decision should align with your broader mission and vision. Throughout my tenure as CEO, our people-first mission and multi-year vision has been a guiding light, even amid pandemic-related setbacks.
Part of this vision is employee-centric decision-making. So when remote work increased stress and employees needed to adjust work schedules, we quickly moved to normalize flexible working schedules. This year has taught us all that micromanaging employees is to our own detriment, and increasing flexibility allows teams to thrive. As employees face evolving circumstances at work and at home, rigid rules and clockwatching just inhibit good work.
People are everything, and building trust plays a big role in your ability to make mission-based decisions. At Brooks Bell, we try to empower leaders to do what’s right, giving them the freedom to grant days off and bonuses as necessary. When your executive team has a strong sense of your company’s values, it trickles down, creating a vibrant culture where every employee feels equipped to make decisions and do what’s right.
Mission-first culture change doesn’t happen overnight. But by modeling your company vision and values, leaders can help embed these qualities into the business’s DNA. I’ve shared my daily nap routine, my decision to take Slack off my phone and my “no weekend email replies” policy. I’ve been public about these moves because I know that junior-level employees won’t embrace a human-centric culture if they don’t see leaders do it first.
When you have a strong, multi-year vision informing every move, from hiring to client relationships, every decision is easier. And individual mistakes or setbacks are less important, because your company continues driving toward this true north.
Looking Forward
As we move toward large-scale office re-openings, back-to-work protocols are a potential powder keg for organizations. Those that throw out the lessons of the past year and force employees back into desks from 9–5 risk losing their most valuable asset. The road ahead may require some trial and error, but without empathy, transparency and a clear vision guiding the way, success is harder to sustain. Brooks Bell certainly wouldn’t be where we are today without leaning on these principles.
Whatever your organization’s path forward looks like, we’re facing a new kind of battle. CEOs can’t be calling the shots from an isolated control tower. Employees will no longer tolerate inflexible work environments or brash orders from cold-blooded executives — and they shouldn’t have to. Focusing on the qualities outlined here has helped me build a strong culture that will steer us through “wartime” and beyond. And most importantly, it allows employees to do work that contributes to personal fulfillment rather than standing in the way.