During the pandemic of 2020, the entire frame of human life was tested. The tolerance of our human systems was all pushed to the brinks; businesses, social establishments, mobility, name it. Many of them failed, others were exhaustively tried, but the peak of the changes was in human interactions. We will never be the same again.

The pandemic not only exposed the weakness of our human systems, but it also revealed the toughness of we humans. In what can be summed up as the worse global disaster of recent times, tough people were forged. Leadership was called for, resilient leadership. And many entities that survived, did so because of this single quality in leadership.

In his book, Tough Times Never Last But Tough People Do, Robert H. Schuller described the mindset of resilience and how to cultivate it in a season of toughness. Friend, tough times always come by, it is a cycle. Doing everything to be prepared is how you win in a tough time.

See, in the past, circumstances that tested great businesses and organizations always came unannounced. Normal business cycles get interrupted by either natural disasters like we saw in 2020, or national and municipal policy changes that can adversely affect your business or employment status. What you do then will prove how resilient you can be in such occasions.

There are many recommendations for “Wartime” career or business management; a long list of to-dos. However, two broad areas of preparations that must be tested are: internal/mental preparations, and external/procedural preparations.

In the mental preparation part, you must cultivate a possibility-mindset and a gritty disposition to survive in order to do so. When danger crystalizes, fear is never an ally. You must, overtime, build that mindset that never gives up, never backs down, never casually throws in the towel. Be mentally tough, both as an individual leader, and as an entity.

Next, you must anticipate every kind of danger and plan for it. It is always better to be poorly prepared for an eventuality than to be unprepared at all. In risk management, every possible risk has been thought of, and a response framework has been prepared in advance on how to tackle it if it crystalizes. On a personal level, creating a risk management framework for your career is a good way to build resilience. I hope this helps you. Cheers.