For most of us, thankfully we are not involved directly in armed conflict, but what happens when there is one in a country. From the outside looking in, we know there will mass migration to safe areas of the world, ideally all those leaving have some form of money to ensure travel costs. After the mass migrations which will make headlines, the businesses that are left, how do they function? Louai Al Roumani, Former CFO of BBSF Bank in Syria has written a book about how to function, which can be used for contingency planning if fortunately you are not involved in armed conflict. The book is titled Lessons from a Warzone, Penguin Business, London, UK, 2020.

Chapter 8 Do more and speak less

As actions become harder, talk becomes cheaper. The author relays a story about a year into the war, one of the principal owner of BBSF decided to set away. What to do? the Board decided to stay in business, but actions speak louder than words. You can say what you want, but people will judge you be what you do or talk is cheap. The company said we were staying and the bank did the same thing from before – pile up the bank notes in front windows.

in crisis management, the principle is that relaying the right information at the right time is always recommended. When announcing a crisis, stating the company’s perspective on it and how it will deal with it usually constitutes the first thing to do. Ultimately it is your actions, not words that matter.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, actions speak louder than words and making a profit over the years is a great thing to be able to do and pay dividends. How it makes it profits is the reason why you invest.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.