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And so when you're going through a crisis, you have to remember that in front of your team, be the person who anchors them, be the person who grounds them, be the person that they can rely on, be the person who calms them. And you can't do that if you're indecisive, if you're uncertain, and if you don't show up with confidence. What's up, guys? Welcome back to Build. And today I want to talk about something that every leader faces at some point in their business, which is a crisis. Okay? So whether it is a business crisis, it's a life crisis, I think we can all agree that crisis is test our ability to lead, to think clearly, to make good decisions, because it usually feels like everything is going really well, and then crisis occurs, and then suddenly it feels like there's no certainty and there's no predictability. And here's the thing is that when that stuff occurs, what I want you to remember is this. What separates a great leader from an okay leader is not their ability to avoid crisis. Okay? It's how you handle it. I think a lot of the times people think, if I was such a great leader, I'd be able to avoid this. I would have made decisions I could have, like, there is no possible way, I'm telling you right now, I would do it if I could, to avoid crisis in business. If you're in a tough spot right now or if you just want to be prepared for when a crisis happens like me, and maybe you're a little paranoid, then this episode is one that you want to listen to. I have been through a number of different crisis situations. I have lost 100% of the money that we've had in the business. I have had a partner steal all of the money we've had in the business. I have had major stakeholders lead suddenly. I have had huge platform changes with Facebook, with YouTube, with Meta. I have had Covid that I've been through, and I've been through lawsuits. I would say that out of all those situations, the one that I learned the most from was leading my company through Covid. And I want to use that kind of as like a guiding light for this, because when Covid first hit to just bring you guys back to where I was at, I had three companies. I had Gym Launch, I had Prestige Labs, and I had Allen. So I had a service company that was B2B. I had a B2B physical product distribution company, and I had a software company. And during that time, really, I'd finally gotten Gym launch and Prestige Labs to a place where I wasn't running the day to day. I was running week to week still. But we had realized that our software company had been one that kind of needed some attention. And so I had diverted a lot of my attention there. Now, the month before COVID I was fucking stoked because everything was going so well. In fact, like, Gymnauch was growing without me involved in it, without Alex involved in it, Prestige was growing without us involved in it, and everything was actually taking off. And it was seeing numbers that we hadn't seen in the business over the year because, you know, we'd taken the time to replace ourselves in it. And we had knew that that was going to be a little bit of a step back. And so finally it felt like everything was going really well because those two businesses were growing on their own. I finally figured out what I needed to do to, I would say, like, grow it, which was like, we had the wrong client. And I was really excited because the month prior to Covid was the biggest month we had in all three businesses. And then Covid hit. And I remember going into that, I felt on top of the world. I was really excited. I felt like I was in a good place personally, a good place professionally. And it was almost to the degree of like, this is too good to be true. Like, you know that feeling when you're like, things have been a little too good for a little too long. And Covid hit, and I was like, fucking, of course, of course this happens. Of course. Just as I feel like I've gotten a hold of everything, just as I feel like I'm out of the woods and boom, crisis occurs. Now here's the thing. When Covid hit, I'm not gonna lie, I was a little freaked out. Because what I realized is I was like, they announced, hey, we're closing all these businesses. And the first thing I thought was like, holy shit. That means all of my customers, every single customer across all three of my businesses no longer is allowed to be open. What does that mean? I'm like, well, I think that at this point in time, if we're here to help them grow their business, if we have tools to help them grow their business, we have products to sustain their business, what are they going to get rid of first, right? And a lot of people in crisis get rid of things that help propel growth because they expect that they're going to decline. And so I was freaked out. I was like, what the fuck? I've never dealt with this stuff before. You know, I think at the time I was, gosh, what is it now? I was 28, 27. You know, I'd never led a team that big. I'd never done anything this big. I never had three companies before. And so I already felt like I was in this, I would say, like, uncharted territory. And so when it happened, I just remember the first night lying in bed just like thinking about everything. I just. I really remember that night vividly because one, I thought I was coughing because everyone said that if you had Covid, you had to cough. So I, like, kept coughing. It was totally placebo effect. And second to that, I was just thinking about all the things I was going to have to do. I felt scared because, you know, at the time, I hadn't dealt with something like that. I dealt with losing money, I dealt with partner stealing, dealt with all these things. But I wasn't leading up 120 person team when that happened. And what I have realized about myself is because I care so deeply about people, it's not that the situation is worse. It's that I have more people that I care for and I take that responsibility seriously. So when that happened, I was like, holy fuck. I have to make sure that I keep the business alive so that they can keep getting paychecks, so that they can keep providing for their families. And that was all I just, like, kept thinking about. I was lying there in bed thinking about that. And I will tell you this, going through that period of time, going through Covid was one of the most stressful times in my business career. During definitely, like, the hours I worked, the type of energy I had to bring to sustain the team morale, the type of decisions I had to make, it was incredibly taxing. And so much to the degree that, like, you know, I'm not the kind of person that advocates for, like, taking time off. And, like, I just remember wanting constantly to go on an island, have a mojito, and just be like, dude, I just need to pray. Because it was just like unending stress. And I think that's a lot different than stress that we put ourselves under purposely is when it's not chosen and there's a lot of unknown and there's a lot of unpredictability. And I think the thing about a crisis that makes it so difficult is that often when it's a true crisis, it's outside of our control. And when it's outside of our control, it's really difficult for us to feel good. Because I think a lot of great leaders law grave CEOs, they want to have control over their business, over what's going on. And we get a sense of peace from knowing that things are under control. But once crisis hits, you know, whether it's economic crisis, whether it's Covid, whether it's a platform change, whether it's legal ramifications, like no matter what that crisis is, you likely don't have control over it. And I really think that's what makes it feel so bad. I will say this. During that time, made a few really important shifts. And you know, some of them I learned from having a few seasoned executives on my team who told me, you know, how they've gotten through recessions. And some of them I learned through books and through people that I've watched on the Internet. And so I really distilled it down into like the four things that I learned on managing a crisis. And I wanted to share that with everybody today because I think a crisis is one thing that is difficult to prepare for, but when it comes, you're gonna be glad you've prepared. So the first principle that I really embodied during that time was switching from peacetime to wartime leadership. Okay? So one of the biggest mindset shifts that you need to make during a crisis is switching from being that peacetime leader to being a wartime leader. Okay? These are in two, like completely different hats that you have to wear when you, when running your business. So here's the difference. In peacetime, you focus on building, optimizing, and creating opportunities for long term growth. Okay? In wartime, during a crisis, you have to shift to focus on survival and stabilization. So let me explain a little bit of what those look like and how I implemented these into my companies during COVID The first one is speed over perfection. Here's the thing. In peacetime, you can afford to refine, to test, to optimize. In wartime, you, you need to act fast. You need to make decisions without complete information. Waiting for perfect data or consensus is a luxury that you do not have when you are in wartime. This feels so opposite to leaders who love to make sure that their teams have buy in, their teams are happy, and everyone's on board, and everyone's. You don't have time, we don't have time to wait for these things because at this point, you're just trying to keep the ship afloat. And so even if the decision doesn't feel imminent in the moment, I want you to understand if it's not this one, it's the next one. And you need to start practicing making Decisions in that manner when you're under a crisis. I know for me, this is one of the hardest things I had to do because I was so used to properly looping in all the right people for all the right decisions, right? But when things are changing rapidly during COVID and there was constant updates on the news from day to day and week to week, I had to bypass this and say, you know what, guys, I'm going to be making some calls. And I understand that there's upside, downside to all of these things, but at the end of the day, I'm making decisions day by day, and I've just got to keep us up afloat. And so I told everyone, like, I'm going to prioritize going fast over perfect. And I need everyone to just be okay with the fact that you're not going to feel as good about every decision, because I don't have weeks to wait to run this down the ladder, up and down each way. Now, the second thing that went with that was prioritizing ruthlessly, right? Because in peacetime, we can juggle more initiatives and we can have a bunch of really audacious goals, right? In wartime, you cut the foul, you focus on only what is essential to solving the immediate problem, and everything else takes a backseat. It is for the sake of focus. So I'll give you an example of this. That was like, one of the hardest things I had to do is, you know, we had a big team and we constantly were celebrating anniversaries and birthdays and all this stuff. But that took a long time because we always made sure we had, like, a really nice custom gift. We always made sure that we celebrate the anniversary with a cake. And we did this and we did that. And I needed my resources focused on keeping us alive and doing essentials, making sure that we're cutting costs, making sure that we are staying focused, making sure that the proper, most essential communications are getting through, not birthdays and anniversaries. And so I told everyone, I said, no holidays, no anniversaries, no birthdays. I am the Grinch this year. And you know what? I know it's the right decision. I love all that stuff. I love it. But it is not the right decision for right now. And I want you guys to understand that. And so when I prioritize, I said, even if it's not something that takes an immense amount of time and effort, it's not worth it, guys. Because even if it just takes two of your attention points, if you only have a hundred, if you got 10 things that are taking two attention points. That's just too many for at this point in time. It's too many for wartime. And you need to make sure that you have as many attention points as possible to put towards the biggest things that are going to drive the company through this time. Which brings me to the last point right in that shift from peacetime to wartime, which is being incredibly decisive. Your team, this is so fucking important. Your team needs to see confidence in your decision making. Even if you're uncertain on the inside. Indecision is worse than the wrong decision because it creates chaos, it creates inaction, it creates people staying in their heads. Make the call course correct later. This was hard for me, but guys, I think this was my single biggest lesson. I have chills thinking about it in shifting from peacetime to wartime because I had to show up on days where I was so uncertain. I was so scared. I wasn't super confident. Like, just honestly, like, I wasn't because I was scared. I was like, I've got like 120 people that rely on me to be the right leader. I have to make these decisions. And I'm just like praying that I'm making the right ones. But you know, it's like I get really emotional thinking about it because it was really taxing. But the truth is, I didn't let them see that. I didn't let them see it because it's selfish. And I know that I need to show up strong. I need to be the rock. I need to be the source of stability. And guess what? That is the burden that we have to bear as leaders. What does that mean? That means that of course I have people to support me. I have people that are, whether they're on the board or their mentors or their friends that support me, that I can go to and they can console me. But my team is not that. Your team are not the ones to console you at this time. You need to be the rock for them. They deserve that from you. And so when you're going through a crisis, you have to remember that in front of your team. Be the person who anchors them, be the person who grounds them, be the person that they can rely on, be the person who calms them. And you can't do that if you're indecisive, if you're uncertain, and if you don't show up with confidence. So understand this, okay? Wartime is not about being harsh and cold. It's about being laser focused, action oriented and decisive. Okay? When the crisis passes, you can Transition back to peacetime leadership. But during this phase during the storm, your team needs a captain who's willing to take the wheel and steer hard. Now that brings me to some more action oriented principles which I call mapping out best case, base case, and worst case scenarios. Okay, here's the thing. When you're in a crisis, the first thing you've got to do is anchor yourself to reality, okay? So that means determining a couple things. What's the best case, what's the base case, and what's the worst case scenario? Now why do we do this and why do we do it immediately when a crisis occurs? Because uncertainty breeds fear and fear keeps you stuck. Here's the thing. When emotions are high, decision making power goes down. There are so many studies on this. God, the best thing I ever did during COVID was make this plan. I can't tell you guys enough because when everything hit, lots of emotions occur, right? And I remember my CFO at the time who had been through recessions, she'd been through giant lawsuits, she'd been through people dying on the clock at places that she worked at, Hu crisis, disease, right? She said, layla, she's like, we got a plan in place. We need three plans. We need best case, base case, worst case. Because you're gonna be freaking the fuck out while this shit's going on and we gotta know what to go back to. She was Southern, and so that was her accent. And I said, okay. And so I called it red, yellow, green plan. And so you ask yourself this, right? One, what is the absolute worst thing that could happen? Write it down. This is fucking uncomfortable, okay? But putting it on paper forces you to confront it instead of letting it best in your mind. So there is a power of getting it out of your head, okay? There's power to this. Now the second thing you ask is, what is the most likely outcome in this situation? And now I want you to write that down. Like, okay, if you're your friend, your friend talking to you, right, you're your best friend and you're saying, hey, you know, dude, what's probably going to happen is X, Y and Z, that's what you write down next, which is like, what's the most likely thing that's going to occur from this situation? Not the worst case, because that's us catastrophizing, right? And not the best case because that's us being optimistic. But what's the most likely thing to occur, right? Reasonable outcome. And then the last question you want to ask is, what is the best possible outcome that could achieve in this situation. And I want you to write that down too. And so here's the thing. When you have all three mapped out, you can start working on a plan for each one. And so what I did is I essentially mapped out what would I do with the business, like, what would I change about the business in each scenario, what would I do with the team and what would I do with myself. And that's what I mapped out. It's like, what's going to happen with the money, the economics, what's going to happen with the team, the org, what's going to happen with the business strategy, AKA like offer structure, ltv strategy to, you know, serve customers. And I mapped out what I would do in each one of those situations. What that did was it gave me clarity and control. Here's the thing, when clarity is there, even when emotions are high and the worst case happens or, you know, something freaks you out, you have your like mental go bag ready, okay, this is what I like consider I was like, this is my mental go bag. Because what it does is that when something scary happens, then you can go straight into execution mode, rather than just dreading it, thinking about it, ruminating on it, freaking out, right? And just heightening our emotions when we're already not in a great place. And so if you are going through crisis, this is literally like the first thing you should do is mapping out these three scenarios because this will ground you, this will keep you stable, and this will take away any decisions that you have to make when you're in high emotional duress. Now here's the thing. Once you have these mapped out, then you can get out of your head and you can get into action. Here's what I noticed, okay? Any kind of crisis, it has a way of pulling you into a mental loop. You start catastrophizing, you start overanalyzing, you start doubting yourself and you start spiraling. I have a couple of people in my team and we're all, you know, we consider ourselves to be a little higher on the stress scale and we all talk about it. It's like I'm in a spiral today, right? And we help each other get out. And man, during a crisis, like, you can really get pulled in a spiral. Here's the thing, and here's what I had to realize. Staying stuck in your head in a spiral is a luxury that you cannot afford during a crisis. Okay? You cannot stay in an anxiety loop. You have to be the one to get others out of their loops, Meaning you Cannot afford to be in one. So how do you avoid this? How do you avoid getting stuck in one of those loops, okay? Focus on action. Break the problem into small, small steps. And ask yourself this every day. What is one thing I could do right now to move us forward? Here's the thing, like I told you earlier, it is better to take action and correct it later than it is to wait and take no action at all. In a crisis, you need to keep moving. And half of that is for the sake of the outcome, which is getting through it. And then half of it is for your mentality. It's for mental resilience. It's for keeping you in motion so that you're not stuck in your head. I love it when Tony Robbins says, like, stay in your head, you're dead during a crisis. That is the worst thing that you could do is stay in your head. You do not want to be staying in your fucking head during a crisis, okay? And so get out of your head, get into your hands, start doing shit. I don't care how small it is, I don't care how. If it's cutting grass with scissors, like, honestly, at that time, I'm like, cut grass with scissors. If it gets you out of your head, it's better than doing freaking nothing. And here's the thing, that action will build momentum. And momentum is going to create progress. And even small wins. They're going to shift the energy in you and in your team from panic to productivity. And remember this, your team is looking at you for direction, not perfection. The faster you act, the faster you can stabilize your team and the entire situation. And the more stable you are, right, the more stable your team will be. Which brings me to my last point that I cannot emphasize enough over. Communicate with your team. This is one of the most overlooked aspects of crisis leadership. Communication. Here's the thing, when things go wrong, people make assumptions. Filling in the gaps is your job. Otherwise, do you know what? People do the same thing you do? Imagine the worst, right? They imagine the fucking worst. And as a leader, it's your job to over communicate, to eliminate the uncertainty, okay? And so like imagine this, right? You tell them about the crisis and then you're doing all this shit in the background. They have no fucking idea. They cannot read your mind. They don't see your calendar. They don't know what you're doing. And so that's what you have to do. You have to create transparency around what's happening. Share what you know, share what you're doing. Even if it's not the full picture yet. Outline the plan. Even if it's just the next step, People want to know there's progress. People want to know there's a general direction, even if it's not perfect. Here's the thing. If you don't communicate, they will lose confidence in you as a leader. My rule for crisis communication is, whatever you're doing, double it. That's it. And that's bare minimum. Like, you have one time a week check in. Cool. Now you do two. You have two times a week you're talking to them. Now you have four. Like, during a crisis, silence can be misinterpreted as inaction or apathy. Let me say that again. Silence can be misinterpreted as inaction or apathy. They think either you're doing fucking nothing or they think you don't care and you don't take it seriously. That is why over communicating is key. When I was leading gym launch through Covid, I went from having one huddle a week to having three huddles a week. Because all I wanted to do was even like, an airline. If there's no update, I'm still gonna tell them there's no update. But I am gonna let them know I'm here. I want them to see more of my face. I want them to have confidence. I want them to hear the confidence in my voice more often than not. Even if that means I'm saying, hey, I'm not sure. But we're still working on it. Now, I will put a caveat to this, which is this. Don't over promise. Do not over promise. Do not say, hey, nothing bad's gonna happen. Hey, nothing's gonna change. Hey, your job is secure. Hey, hey, like, shut the fuck up. Don't do any of that. I can't tell you how many leaders, like, compulsively go to that and they default to being like, let me just reassure. No, unfortunately, here's the thing. We cannot reassure people with false truths. That is bad mean, Right? That's nice. Not kind, right? It's being nice, like saving face. But it's like, not kind. Because if you have to lay off a department, two months later, it's like, fuck, you're gonna feel like piece of shit. And guess what? Your team's gonna be pissed because there are other people who are still. There are gonna be like, you fucking lied. So do not over promise you will regret it later. I have never over promised. And I have seen many leaders over promise. And guess what? I would rather learn from them than on my own. And so I learned from them and it really helped me get through these situations because my team knew they could rely on anything I told them. They knew I was going to be honest. I will say, like when you doubt everything else, like just be fricking honest. I swear to God, that will save you in these times. And then the last piece to the communication is this, okay? Do not forget it's a two way street. Okay? So you're giving all this communication to your team. Create a space for your team to ask questions, for them to voice concerns, for them to share insights. Okay, here's the thing. Sometimes the solution to your problem might actually come from someone on your team whose perspective you hadn't even thought about. I can tell you that during the times of COVID me speaking with the frontline employees was one of the best things I could have done. Because when I spoke with them, I learned so much about the customers, how they were feeling, the situations, more than I would have if I was remaining as distant as I have been. And so over communicate, seek feedback, don't over prone this. Here's the thing. When you're facing a crisis overall, like end of the day, emotions are high. But I look at every crisis as an opportunity to get better. And I really mean that. I'm not just like saying that it's like bs, like fluffy, like, oh yeah, get better. No, it really is. I can't tell you until I went through Covid like I am. I would not be the leader I am today if I had not gone through that because I had to develop skills that I hadn't had before. I had to know what it looked like to instill confidence when there was none. I had to know how to create some sense of security when there was none that I could promise. And I had to know how to switch into that wartime mode when I had only ever been a peacetime leader. And those are all tools that I still use today. You know, it doesn't necessarily need to be a big crisis, but it could be, you know, letting go of a prominent leader. It could be making a big change in a department. It could be reorganizing an organization, it could be rolling out a new product line, it could be super fast growth and the problems that come with that. All of these things are almost mini crisis themselves. And so even if you're not facing an existential threat in your business, these are things that you can use right now in any area where things just aren't exactly how you'd hoped so with that, remember those four principles. If you're facing a crisis, go ahead, pass this onto your team. Let them know, give them the tools that they need to be empowered during crisis. And if you know somebody who's going through this in their business, please forward it to them because, dang, I wish I had had this when I was going through it the first time. With that, I hope you have a fantastic week, day, walk, workout, whatever it might be, and I will see you on the next one.