Fall Down Seven Times, Stand Up Eight
The big losses are the hardest to take.
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In just the past twelve months I’ve helped CEOs through some of the worst moments in the lives of their companies:
An acquisition that fell through on the day it was supposed to close.
An investor who signed the papers but changed their mind and refused to wire the money.
A co-founder who sued the company to prevent a transaction.
These kinds of bad turns hurt a lot. It’s not just the event itself, it’s all the work and energy that went into creating the potential for a big win and then having it ripped away at the last moment. Even for the most experienced CEOs, it’s hard to get past them.
But, life goes on. Your business needs to keep operating. Your employees are looking to you for any signs of hope or confidence. You can’t just walk away.
At the same time, you can’t pretend that it doesn’t bother you. We are not robots and these kinds of hits take an emotional toll - and sometimes a physical one too. Sleepless nights and high stress make it even harder to manage.
I’m not a therapist and everyone deals with these issues in their own way. However, if you are a leader and go through one of these worst-case scenario events there are some productive things you can do.
Take a break. Even if it’s a short walk by yourself, give yourself time to process. The emotions of such a traumatic event will be flowing freely and they will color everything you do if you can’t get them under control.
Find something to be thankful for. It might seem like the end of the world, but there are always bright spots in any situation. Remind yourself that there are positives.
Be honest. Both with your team and yourself! Don’t pretend everything is great, but balance the good with the bad. These things happen to all teams.
Reflect. Don’t beat yourself up, but learn from the experience. Were there things you could have done differently? What will you do differently next time?
This is not a formula for feeling better, this is a process to help you remain a leader to your team during a difficult period. It’s likely the sting will last for years. Even today, I feel the sting of horrible events from over a decade ago. While the sting has faded, it’s still there.
The question is whether we get up again and keep going. The title of this piece is one of my favorite proverbs because it speaks so simply to what needs to be done.
Fall down seven times, stand up eight.
Being a great leader does not mean avoiding these horrible events. Every company faces them at some point. The real question is how you handle them when they happen.
For more on Mental Health, see: