65 million years ago the Cretaceous period came to a sudden and abrupt end with a massive asteroid striking the Earth. The asteroid did more than incinerate what is now the lower 48, all of Mexico, Central America, and the top third of South America – it filled the sky with ash and debris, blocking the sun for years, cooling the planet and creating a prehistoric version of nuclear winter.
The results were predictable – dinosaurs – the oversized, cold-blooded lizards were completely wiped out. The more advanced species – Mammalia – survived.
Though not usually from asteroid strikes, businesses can suffer the same. Kodak was destroyed – not by a giant flying rock – but by an equally devastating event – digital photography. In Kodak’s case, they saw the rock, in fact, they INVENTED the rock, then dismissed it and put all their efforts back into film.
The death blow for Kodak was not “the asteroid”. The death blow was the leaders' – most notably Antonio Perez’s - failure to supply “sunshine” to their company.
In many circles “sunshine” is a derogatory term and that is not how I’m referencing it here. I use “sunshine” in a more literal sense:
The company owner or CEO is “The Sun”. Therefore, the owner or CEO is responsible for providing “light” for their lieutenants and their employees. That means presenting a clear and compelling vision of what the company stands for, its culture, and its mission. Nothing is more critical to the company and the prospects for long-term survival.
The owner/CEO is also responsible for providing sunshine to ongoing research and development. Now more than ever, stagnation within a business's products and/or services opens opportunities for more aggressive, agile competitors to survive. All one needs to do is look at how many businesses that relied on an old and outdated business model failed to survive the pandemic.
The sun nourishes all that bathe in its light and warmth. Great companies have great leaders, leaders that provide light, hope, and radiate trust. The best immediately come to peoples’ minds – Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, Warren Buffet, and Richard Branson. Others – that are not business owners – also come to mind – Dr. M.L.King, Desmond Tutu, and my personal favourite – Mahatma Gandhi. These are more than leaders for their respective companies – these are leaders for all of Humanity.
The most important part of sunshine is being your company’s guiding light. All businesses ebb and flow, good times and tough times. Great leaders are the light – the sunshine – that employees look to for guidance when things get tough. The leader is the calm inside the storm and like all great leaders, they prepare for the inevitable dark times while the sun is shining.
There comes a time when people get tired of being pushed out of the glittering sunlight of life's July and left standing amid the piercing chill of an alpine November. - Martin Luther King, Jr.
If you'd like some help illuminating your business, let us help.