It’s No One’s Fault, But It’s Your Responsibility.
Shutting down sucks, but even in closing
your business, there are ways to do it right.
General managing partner, G2T3V and Chicago High Tech Investors
The reckoning is here. Companies that have scrambled for the
last year or two to keep their heads above water are now reaching the point
where the ride is over and the tide is out. They needed a lot more substance and a
lot less "story" to keep their boats afloat and a much bigger bankroll to
weather the current storm. No one’s rushing right now to save the day or to
be the last money in regardless of how bright the future may be. Sadly, being
"just about to turn the corner" in these times is a lot like being
Carnival cruise lines. No one’s anxious to get on board.
So, if you’re the boss in a situation like this, you're going to
have to write the memo announcing that it's time to quit -
turn off the lights and shut the doors - even though no one is certain where
they're headed or what comes next. Over the years, many of us have been there, and,
as Springsteen says: "you don't know where you're going, but you know you
won't be back." Hopefully, you've been preparing the path (even with the
abruptness of the latest crisis) and you won't be leaving everyone (or anyone)
high and dry. There aren't a lot of skid marks when a small business
shuts down, but there is a right
way to do these things.
You’ll need to tell your team that the dream has turned to dust.
They were there for you in so many ways and thanking them for their hard work
and commitment is a great place to start the conversation. Be honest and make
it clear that the last few weeks or months of any failing business are never
fun. More like being pecked to death by ducks.
A lot has been written about the value of failure, but some
experiences don't make you tougher; they just wear you out. But the key
takeaway, and what still makes even the wind-down process valuable, is that you
hung in there and did it together. You had the opportunity to work with some
great and talented people under the worst conditions and circumstances and see
them continue to come through and deliver for the customers and employees that
depended on them. Giving up is easy; gutting it out is hard.
I'd suggest that there are four other important messages that
you might want to weave into your story. No pride of authorship here -- just
some ideas to throw into the hopper. Ultimately, the story's gotta be your own
or it won't be authentic or helpful to anyone.
First, you don't want anyone to forfeit their future because of the
bumps and bad breaks of the past. These things happen and – in the most honest
sense – this is no one’s fault. It could have been handled better in some ways
and in a timelier fashion, but no one could have foreseen the overall situation,
and frankly, the earlier the mitigation was, the more economic damage to small businesses
there would have been. Each member of your team should take the lessons (good
and bad) that they’ve learned and use them to help make something better and
stronger the next time around. Because this too will pass.
Second, it's important to neither romanticize nor ceaselessly
mourn the whole thing. Things were never as great or as horrible as they might
seem in retrospect and in the selective retelling. Some poet once said:
"when one door closes, another opens, but we often look so longingly and
so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one that has opened
for us." There's no question that your team has lived through some of the
best and most exciting times of their young lives and that what comes next may
never take them to those emotional heights again. You are only a virgin once.
But that doesn't mean that everything from now on will be a pale
imitation of the past or a disappointment. We're all products of our past, but
no one has to be a prisoner of it unless they're willing to settle for that. No
one can step over you unless and until you lie down. Pick yourself up, dust
yourself off, and move on down the road.
Third, nobody ever said that life was fair. No one could have
anticipated the depth and severity of what we’re going through or the arrogant
fool we have in charge of our collective futures. But we’re here now and we’ve
all got to muddle through the mess and get on with our lives.
After years of hard work and plenty of grief, things didn't work
out exactly as you expected. No surprise there. They never do. Real life's like
that. Nature doesn’t make appointments. The virus doesn’t know or care that you
were on the verge of greatness. It turns out, as the old New York Yankees
manager/philosopher Casey Stengel once said, "Baseball is the only place
in life where a sacrifice is really appreciated." The most important thing
is to always keep moving forward and to remember that, in tough times like
these, there are really no winners -- only survivors. The trick is to be sure
to be one.
And one last thought as you look forward to your next whatever.
It really diminishes your soul when you do what you don't believe in. And even
if the right song is playing, no one is going to tell you to get up and dance.
It's all on you. Don’t rush to just find a job. Find something that you
passionately care about, throw yourself into it with all your heart, and let
the new chips fall where they may.