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 10 Align motivation and never become lax

Most of the book has been about the company’s perspective and how to keep the company in operations through the crisis. The greatest resource of the company is people. The greatest source of issues inside the bank is people. Therefore, it is important you maintain standards of the company and do not allow people to become lax in their attitudes and judgements towards the rules. There will a thousand good reasons to become more lax, but being lax never helps to reinforce adherence to the laws and create a more effective system.

A crisis stretches both people and organizations. It reveals weaknesses and vulnerabilities. How you react, when enter a confrontation, imparts a signal to people about the extent to which you will budge to pressure. People will try, some will succeed but it sends a signal to others, do not bulge to pressure. Remember to align your goals in good and bad times.

The easiest thing to do at all times, when times go wrong, is to blame external factors beyond your control. In BBSF’s case it was the war. Why did you not meet your targets – the war.

The solution is effective communication of your strategic objectives. A handful of KPI or Key Performance Indicators are developed and explained as to their importance.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, in North America we generally think about external events such as weather or medical conditions as the big factor. Then President Trump threw the supply chain into chaos, because he could so you never know.

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