“Corona is like an IKEA furniture test. It breaks in the places where it already cracked before,” says Corinna Cremer, crisis consultant
Corinna Cremer, Crisis Consultant, advises entrepreneurs and leaders on how to deal with self-imposed challenges and non-self-imposed crises, like the Corona Crisis we are in the midst of right now. She has her workplace in Französische Straße, Berlin. Corinna Cremer has 25 years of professional experience as a consultant and coach, is a pilot, author and sought-after speaker. Corinna Cremer sees the Corona period as an opportunity because it heightens awareness of crises. Among your clients, the balance is currently between companies that are prepared for exceptional situations and those that are completely unprepared for the crisis. “For us, the Corona crisis is also a confirmation that our concepts and training are working. Sometimes I have tears in my eyes because the communication with the clients works so well these days. There are new problems, new solutions are being found. This is only possible when the team is united and no one is afraid. When there is fear, the creative center does not start. The difference in companies right now is so drastic, it’s incredible.”
Corona: Mental stress will go through the roof “post exit”
If companies have not specified structures for a crisis, it will be very difficult at the moment. In Germany, there is incredible diversity in how the crisis is handled. “We’re dealing with a 30,000-employee corporation, they just shut down. There are first suicides, we have now been called in as a hotline. And our phones are running hot, many employees are calling us. Managers are also calling in and making appointments, officially it’s a leadership issue. Then when we have the appointment, 90 percent of it is about private things. “I didn’t know my wife was so aggressive with the kids,” “I’m ordering our divorce papers soon.” These are not isolated situations; we have them here every day!” is how Cremer describes the current situation.
The trend to support the development of personality strengthens through Corona
“Corona is an opportunity, also socially, because awareness of the value of mental stability is changing.” It will no longer be possible to run a healthy company if the people are not there to do so. “We don’t lack good ideas, we lack the people to implement them. We have believed for too long that we are the nation of inventors, that we have the ideas, but now we are running out of people to implement them.” Companies that have had great success, Cremer said, have only invested in the teams because they knew the ideas would otherwise be impossible to implement.
What we can learn from Google and NASA: Psychological Safety
The buzzword is: Psychological Safety. We need teams with brains that are resilient, teams that are brave. Google employed the culture of “I feel safe in the company, I won’t be shamed, I won’t be deceived, there will be no trickery” to achieve this. Originally, this Psychological Safetyness comes from NASA. Before the Challenger crash, someone did not dare to say anything, even though he knew that something was wrong. In an insecure culture, people are afraid to speak up. The concept then developed from this.
“The focus on people, mental health and resilience will continue to strengthen through Corona. People want to have more support for personal development. When I started 30 years ago, it was all about coolness. Today is about resilient serenity. The trend was there before, but the Corona crisis massively reinforced it. The focus is now clearly on people, even if we only see it from a financial perspective. Nothing works without a healthy person,” Cremer reports.
What counts in a crisis is trust and authenticity – in all areas!
People perceive very different things now than they did before. “We no longer need salespeople with put-on smiles trying to sell us a product that doesn’t suit us at all,” Cremer said. According to Corona, the era of coaching aimed at short-term behavioral change will no longer exist in this form, or at least it will be significantly less. Because it does not wear! What we need is the authentic salesperson who we trust, who is genuine and who really means well with us. It’s a different training approach because it only leads to a change in mindset in the long run.”
Do you accept the call?
Corinna Cremer: “There is no family, no company that is collapsing now if it hasn’t cracked before. Now little things are falling to their feet. It’s like an IKEA test. It’s breaking in the places where it’s cracking. Now you have a chance to see what’s cracking and do something about it. Are you taking the call?”
