While management training experts and guides often discuss crisis management best practices and the importance of calculating the risks, it is crucial to recognize that war presents unique challenges, distinct from typical crises or unforeseen events mentioned in contracts.

Navigating through the complexities of wartime management is an entirely different endeavor. In such circumstances, long-term planning takes a backseat, and the ability to make prompt decisions becomes paramount. Team dynamics are also transformed, as individual team members face their own distinct challenges, relying on management for support.

During periods of instability, it is crucial for managers to remain composed, maintain a clear vision of the company’s goals and objectives, and consistently communicate updates to the team. Establishing an efficient process is a unique endeavor that depends on the specifics of your business. However, there are some fundamental principles that should be considered. In this article, I will share the steps that have helped our company to operate smoothly and fulfill commitments with minimal disruptions.

Teamwork Dynamics: Factors Impacting Teamwork in Times of Peace and War

Typically, work conditions are influenced by external factors such as market dynamics, economic trends, and the state of the business niche. However, internal processes also play a significant role, including remote work arrangements, client demand for new technical expertise and skills, and more. Additionally, the chronic stress experienced by Ukrainians over the past 1.5 years has further contributed to the complexity of the situation.

There is a commonly held belief that crises and wartime conditions create unique contexts for conducting business, considering their psychological impact. Consequently, it’s often assumed that team management approaches should be adapted accordingly. However, based on our extensive experience, we found that this perspective does not necessarily hold true.

Wartime company management incorporates standard crisis management practices, but with one crucial difference: it requires a broader scope of planning and heightened attention to the team’s interests and well-being. Drawing from my previous experience in crisis management, I have primarily dealt with transforming businesses during periods of market volatility and resource scarcity. In order to stabilize the company, I focused on making economically viable decisions and prioritized measurable and achievable business goals in collaboration with my team.

Even as the war rages outside our windows, the fundamental principles of effective management still hold true. However, the priorities and focus shift significantly. In such challenging times, the well-being and welfare of our team, partners, and clients take precedence and surpass our business interests. Those circumstances emphasize the value of being a compassionate and ethical individual rather than solely an efficient manager.

While navigating the constraints of limited business resources, it is vital to incorporate this factor when planning for structural changes. A prime example was observed during the initial stage of the war when we faced challenges in maintaining our usual uninterrupted provision of services and product delivery to clients. As a result, we made the decision to temporarily
pause most of our production processes, redirecting our focus toward creating safe working environments for all colleagues

The company made it a top priority to ensure safe navigation routes for colleagues evacuating by car and arranged for rented buses to assist others in their evacuation. Additionally, we provided free accommodation in Lviv, ensuring our teammates could easily and quickly get to safety and comfort. After addressing the immediate concerns regarding physical safety, our focus shifted towards helping the team to resume business operations. Colleagues who decided to join the Armed Forces of Ukraine retained their entire contractual earnings.

Simultaneously, we acknowledged our responsibilities towards our partners and warned them about potential delivery delays. I am pleased to share that we received understanding and support from all our clients. In times of chaos, like war, upholding our reputation became crucial, highlighting the importance of standing by our team and partners.

Basics of Wartime Management: Focusing on Your Team and Business Goals

In times of crisis, particularly during the war, it is crucial to consider various organizational and social factors in order to effectively manage the situation. The key factors are safeguarding the emotional well-being of your team, appropriate reassignment of roles, short-term planning, and swift adaptation to unforeseen circumstances. The role of crisis management, in this context, entails setting a clear direction, defining priorities, and maintaining regular communication even beyond the scope of the business agenda.

When considering updates to the corporate structure, it is important to base them on a specific business goal. Our experience has shown that a rigid hierarchy is most effective in certain business models, particularly those that involve offering a fixed set of products and services, where flexibility can be overlooked in favor of maximizing optimization.

However, it proves to be highly inefficient when it comes to managing risks and opportunities. As a company with thousands of clients, we had every reason to move away from the traditional corporate hierarchy. This allowed us to implement different business models tailored to various projects and decentralize decision-making, especially in situations where rapid adaptation to changing contexts was crucial.

We transitioned to a flat organizational structure a while back, which enabled us to make most of our decisions locally. As part of this transformation, we implemented a system called “steam management” in late 2021. This system involves dividing all production and service-related work within the company into distinct streams. Each stream has its own owner, team members, defined Objectives & Key Results (goals with corresponding KPIs), and stakeholders.

Let me illustrate the process of setting and updating goals within our company. The involvement of the Board of Directors in every operational detail is neither practical nor necessary. Instead, their responsibility lies in shaping the company’s vision, establishing goals, and determining the strategic direction of our business. In order to gain the necessary context, board members regularly exchange news and maintain open communication with stream owners and representatives.

Working closely with the C-level executives, the board discusses changes and evaluates the feasibility of achieving goals within existing or new streams. Based on the feedback, the board of directors formulates final goals that are mutually agreed upon by all participants involved in the process.

By adopting this approach, the board assumes a consolidating role rather than imposing goals from the top down. We value the input and perspective of our colleagues, involving them in the goal-setting process for each department. As a result, our colleagues become more motivated and personally invested in achieving those goals.

Effective and transparent project management hinges on regular check-ins and detailed reporting. This systematic approach ensures synchronization across all streams in real time. With each check-in, the stream owner proactively updates stakeholders on the progress made towards achieving goals, highlights any encountered delays or issues, and can seek assistance if necessary. To facilitate better decision-making, dynamic dashboards offer clear visibility into the current state of essential stream metrics at any given moment.

This system played a crucial role in keeping us well-informed about the status of our team members and their families during the evacuation from dangerous areas. It provided real-time updates on their locations, the assistance they required, the availability of vacant rooms in Lviv hotels, and more.

Mistakes That Might Cost a Fortune

Regrettably, perfection isn’t attainable in the business world. Mistakes are bound to occur, particularly when juggling numerous responsibilities simultaneously, making long-term planning seem less feasible. The real concern is that some of these actions can have catastrophic consequences, impacting the reputation of the business and potentially leading to its closure.

Throughout my managerial experience, I’ve encountered different kinds of situations. For instance, on the day the full-scale war began, I found myself mentally paralyzed for four hours, unable to react swiftly despite being the team’s leader, even though setting the tone for the team should have been my priority. There were other similar instances, such as:

• Transitioning from a rigid hierarchical structure to a holacracy, without setting precise goals
• Losing several clients due to strictly adhering to standard written practices to the letter
• Losing a major contract due to upholding personal principles

As time goes by and experience accumulates, it is possible to gradually find clarity, draw lessons from both personal and other companies’ mistakes, and steer clear of encountering the same issues repeatedly.

In the midst of stressful conditions, when the focus is on stabilizing the processes quickly, managers may act impulsively, potentially causing damage to the company. For instance, some companies attempted to continue “business as usual” despite the war, others resorted to harsh measures, like insisting their team works from bomb shelters and implementing pay reductions for the inability to be constantly online.

While the yearning to return to the status quo is understandable, it is important for executives to remain composed, keep a clear head, and focus on the bigger picture for the future instead of clinging to the way things used to be.

Mistakes are inevitable, but the key takeaway is clear: embrace continuous learning, accept and learn from mistakes, and find joy in what you do. Your work comprises a significant part of your life, and both the results and the process should be fulfilling and enjoyable.

Forewarned Is Forearmed

The majority of business problems and changes can be effectively managed by taking proactive steps to minimize risks and thoughtfully handle processes.

Every crisis presents an opportunity to achieve what once seemed impossible. Take the COVID-19 pandemic, for instance, which compelled businesses to embrace fully or partially remote work. The “Remote First” model has proven to be vastly superior to office-only or remote-friendly formats, liberating business processes from the constraints of physical presence in the office.

Embracing a “Remote First” approach not only guarantees long-term flexibility but also enables your company to adapt more effectively, ensuring uninterrupted business continuity, successful talent acquisition, and retention, as well as financial advantages. The full remote setup played a vital role in allowing our team to swiftly regroup and adapt to the new reality faster.

In crisis management, the ability to ride the storm is vital. It necessitates stepping back from the problem and the emotions it evokes, enabling one to foresee the potential outcomes of decisions and make swift and well-informed choices. A proficient crisis manager exhibits the capacity to take responsibility and make rapid decisions, which is unquestionably one of the most essential management skills. However, unfortunately, even managers capable of quick action often rely on their gut feeling rather than evaluating the current context.

I believe that investing efforts in fostering transparency within the company is very important. Specifically, when it comes to the mathematical and data aspects, this approach facilitates transforming your company into a data-driven organization, enabling data-based decision-making. Such decisions are inherently more accurate and rely on a minimal amount of guesswork.

Mathematics as Part of Transparent Management

As your company’s operations, processes, products, and services grow in complexity, the importance of having precise data becomes increasingly vital. To navigate this complexity successfully, the management team must have access to a necessary set of metrics, such as:

• The profit margin for each project and client
• Customer acquisition cost (CAC)
• Lifetime value (LTV)
• Measurable quality of every product or service delivered
• And dozens of other parameters
• Making data-driven decisions enables faster and more flexible decision-making, as it allows for a precise evaluation of your company’s stress resilience.

I am convinced that transparency, anchored in mathematical components such as documentation, structured information, business processes, and well-defined company goals, paves the way for a more comfortable, efficient, and engaging work environment.

After summing up more than a year of experience in wartime management, I am very impressed by the remarkable qualities of our team: mutual trust, cohesiveness, and a strong sense of responsibility. These attributes have been instrumental in overcoming the challenges posed by the war and continue to guide us as we navigate its consequences. Looking back, I am confident in all the decisions I made.