Leading Through Crisis

When you manage a family-owned and operated business that has been in operation for 100 years, you have a depth of experience to access when facing challenging times. The ongoing global health pandemic may be unlike anything we have faced in recent times, but there are other more recent crises we have dealt with that can help us overcome any challenges we are currently facing.

In 2008, I experienced the economic collapse. Our number one ingredient – wheat crops – doubled in price. While that created a different kind of crisis than what we are seeing now, having experienced that crisis prepared our management team and business to handle similar disruptions.

During the collapse, the previous generations that had managed the business were unsure of the best approach to proceed. They were thinking about how to approach the issue by cutting expenses – due to the grim outlook over the next three, six and nine months, or potentially longer.

Instead of following the natural reaction to pull back, the next generation created a bold and aggressive plan to spend more and push forward. We rebranded from a Pennsylvania Dutch family image that used birds and ivy to create a more established brand appearance that would resonate with consumers. A new, more legible logo was developed, and packaging was redesigned to align with our high-quality signature pretzels.

We also increased our packaging sizes from 8 ounces to 11 ounces. This decision allowed us to sell a higher volume of product per single unit purchase to our valued customers. Also, it enabled us to not only adjust the price per bag but also the price per ounce, offsetting the increased cost of ingredients. Had we only increased the price per ounce, it would have allowed the consumer to easily see the increase, which typically creates a small window of demand decline due to the consumer emotion, plus we would not have seen the significant product volume increase and new consumer trials from seeing a new larger and more modern bag on the shelf. Only doing a price increase would not have been sufficient to sustain the business.

What happened in 2008 and leading the business through that crisis helped prepare our business and management team for what happened in 2020 and beyond. Dealing with a crisis and drilling down to truly understand the metrics behind what is happening enables you to create a picture of what the solution could or should look like. This process teaches you how to handle similar events even though the causes and solutions will differ. By attacking the problem head-on and going for drastic change, we were able to address the crisis from an aggressive standpoint. In 2008, this approach enabled us to come up with a solution, and in turn, we nearly doubled the company within the following 12 months.

In the current crisis, once I saw unemployment offering unemployment compensation plus an additional $600, I knew my new role would be focused on providing stability to our employees during uncertain times. I accomplished this through a staged approach by first making employees feel safe – both in terms of their health and job security. Next, we created initiatives to show our employees that we appreciated each of them for their commitment to staying on the job. As we settled into new routines, we looked outward to see how we could support those small businesses around us that we're not doing well. 

We recognized the pandemic was not affecting us the way it was affecting other industries. Taking an active stance to support those who were struggling resonated with employees and made them proud to be part of our organization as we assisted people in their hometowns. The pride this afforded our employees helped alleviate some of the anxiety everyone was experiencing.

This will not always be the case. There may not be a solution. If your mindset in a crisis is to pull back, how do you carry that mindset when you are not in a crisis? The internal fire has to keep burning bright if you are going to reach new goals and heights for your business.

I am a strong proponent of not waiting for a crisis to create change. I always recommend looking at your organization through a lens of continuous improvement and don’t be afraid of big change if it makes sense. But even with this mindset, some opportunities only become available in times of crisis, and recognizing what they are and how you can react to them is also key.