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Leading through crisis has been a constant theme of my entrepreneurial journey, from my early startups to my current role as managing partner at Bread, a venture firm and product studio. I’ve been faced with the harsh realities of not being able to make payroll, being months behind schedule on product development, missing critical deadlines and making the decision to fold one of my businesses entirely, even though it was succeeding.
But these experiences have shown me that in times of crisis, effective leadership doesn’t mean having the right answers — it’s about acting decisively, adapting quickly and making the tough calls that others might shy away from. These are the lessons that have had the biggest impact on me throughout my career and have helped me navigate the unpredictable world of running a business.
Related: 4 Core Strategies That Helped Me Turn Setbacks Into Success
1. Act quickly in crisis
When a crisis hits, you need to make swift, informed decisions, no matter how hard they are. It’s better to move quickly and course-correct later than do nothing at all.
In 2013, my team and I faced one of our first major crises. At the time, we were running two companies simultaneously — a services business that provided the revenue we needed to operate, while also developing a technology product. The idea seemed sound: leverage our talent pool to create a product that could generate passive income while still growing our services business. But we were in over our heads.
Being overconfident in our pipeline led us to believe that new business would always be around the corner, no matter how recklessly we spent on developing the product. But reality hit us hard when we failed to extend our largest client. Suddenly, we were facing the possibility that we wouldn’t be able to pay our staff, even as interest in our product was growing. We had to make some very tough decisions about the future of the business.
Within the span of two days, we decided to shut down the services agency to focus entirely on developing our product, Density. This was a painful decision that required letting go of people who had been with us from the start. But we knew that trying to juggle both businesses was no longer sustainable.
When you’re faced with a challenge like this, don’t fall into the trap of analysis paralysis. By making the hard decision to shut down the agency, our product business was able to flourish. I believe it’s better to act quickly and remediate later than to stand by and watch the situation deteriorate.
Related: 4 Steps You Need to Follow to Make It Through Any Crisis With Your Company Intact
2. Don’t confine leadership to the C-suite
During that crisis, one of my colleagues stepped up in a way that I’ll never forget. This was someone who, despite being in a senior leadership position, was typically quiet in meetings and rarely took charge. But in the middle of this chaos, he stood up, walked to the whiteboard and outlined a five-step plan to stabilize our situation.
His plan was simple but decisive: We needed to let go of people we couldn’t afford, stop paying ourselves for a couple of months, stabilize our books, set a budget for Density and gradually transition our resources from the agency to the product. Within minutes, we had a clear path forward and everyone rallied around it.
This experience taught me an invaluable lesson: Leadership can come from anywhere, and sometimes the best leaders are the ones who step up when you least expect it. My colleagues’ ability to cut through the noise, take action and present a clear plan not only saved our business, but it inspired the rest of the team to follow suit.
True leadership isn’t about always being the person in charge — it’s about knowing when to step aside and let someone else take the lead. Encourage and empower your team members to step up when they see an opportunity. Often, the best solutions come from those who are closest to the problem, which won’t always be you or your executive team.
Related: 5 Essential Things Employees Can Teach Leaders About Growth, Success and Happiness
3. Real leadership means getting your hands dirty
When my team and I were first building Density, we were months behind schedule on developing our hardware. I was on the front lines, selling a product that didn’t even exist yet. My frustration led me to take matters into my own hands — literally.
We needed to deliver a critical installation for a Fortune 500 customer, and we simply didn’t have the hardware ready. So I rolled up my sleeves and, along with some of my colleagues, started hand-building the units in our Syracuse office. This wasn’t my job, but it needed to be done, and I wasn’t about to let our team’s hard work go to waste by missing a huge deadline.
Seeing me take on this task, many others on the team — even those with no technical background — joined us. Together, we worked around the clock to build the hardware, ship it to the customer and install it on time.
This experience reinforced the idea that sometimes leadership means getting your hands dirty and doing whatever it takes to keep the momentum going. Sometimes you have to find a new way forward, even if it’s unconventional. Be ready to adapt your strategies when circumstances demand it. The key is to stay flexible, be open to change and be willing to pivot.
Leading through a crisis is never easy, but it’s a crucial part of being an entrepreneur. While crises are inevitable, how you respond to them can define the future of your business. Leadership is about more than just making the right decisions — it’s about having the courage to act, the humility to listen and the resilience to keep moving forward.
