Lecturer in Management - Stanford Graduate School of Business, Venture Investor, Author The Systems Leader and The Brains and Brawn Company
As I write in The Systems Leader, navigating volatility isn’t about slashing budgets or retreating into fear. It’s about making disciplined decisions that protect what matters most—your people, your purpose, and your ability to grow when conditions improve. The instinct may be to cut fast and deep. But long-term value comes from knowing when to be precise—and when to invest, even in hard times. Disruption doesn’t just test systems. It reveals leadership. #TheSystemsLeader #OrganizationalResilience #InvestInPeople
Founder @ On Deck Workshops | Stanford Lecturer | Expert Teambuilder | Offsite Facilitator & Keynote Speaker
1wRobert E. Siegel Yes. When times get tough - when leaders fear dips in the market or see signs of financial volatility - the knee-jerk reaction is to pull back on investment in 1) their people, and 2) their most innovative (and high-risk) projects. But pulling back on investments in your people often prolongs the damage. People are scared for their jobs, people feel unsupported and unmotivated, people look for opportunities elsewhere. And pulling back on new projects shuts down the possibility of striking gold. Riding the dips without pulling back on vision - that’s resilience in leadership.