What should we do when the bottom has fallen out?
When you run a company, you intersect with hundreds of lives in dozens of ways. You have some degree of authority, you have a meaningful amount of responsibility, but in the end, you have only a limited amount of control.
The control in your company rests with all of the people who make it up. They drive the culture, the effort, the quality and the results.
In good times…the times that are normal, even…you’re able to reward your team with increases in compensation, the feelings of being involved with something that is good and meaningful, a piece of the increased value of the company, simple moments of praise and recognition.
If you’re in the leadership of a magazine company, these times are bad times like we haven’t seen before.
So what do you do?
I think you have to find a way to give your people the opportunity to try and to learn something new. And to hope that in finding a new thing, they are able to gain the sense of opportunity the breeds confidence and optimism. Whether they stay with you or go, they can feel certain that they have improved their skills.
This is a really hard thing to stay focused on when you are cutting costs and trying to keep your head above water. But, if you’re able to do it, I believe the things that are good and positive in our nature will reward your organization for the effort.
