"All of Us Are Olympic Swimmers in a Bathtub"

Everyone gets surprised by unplanned events, and no one escapes true crises. Companies change hands or a long-term business closes its doors. Key team members leave for another opportunity or die from an illness. People, clients, and communities that people count on disappear.

First, there is shock and denial. And then for some, there is also great possibility and opportunity. Here is the story of two leaders who took significant disaster and saw what could be created from the ashes.

In the end, it isn't what happens to us. It is how we choose to respond to it.

Larry Silverstein, a real estate developer, is the ultimate optimist. He signed a 99 year lease for the World Trade Center when he was 70 years old, just seven weeks before 9/11.

Dr. Scott Cowen is another optimist. As president of Tulane University, he declared that Tulane would reopen January 17, 2006. That was after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans on August 29, 2005, when his school was almost totally under water, including 84 of their buildings.

Their stories of managing through unimaginable crisis provide business leaders with both inspiration and some unique problem-solving approaches. Using blogs, patience, persistence, and deadlines, each leader managed their unique crisis to a successful outcome.

Silverstein and Cowen were recently featured on the Crisis Management Panel at the Milken Institute Global Conference. After reading about them for several years, it was powerful for me to hear them in person, sharing their stories, their setbacks without blame, the unintended consequences of their hyper focus, and ultimately several eye-opening lessons for leaders in any business.

Since we already know many of the details of their challenges, let me fast forward to the future.

The entire World Trade Center will reopen in 2012, and Silverstein will be turning 82 years old. These four towers will also include a fitting memorial to those who died. According to Silverstein, the new WTC will be stronger and safer. 7 World Trade, which has already reopened across the street, is 2/3 leased, and major tenants are highly interested in the other four towers.

This phoenix-like transformation is one of the most remarkable events any of us will experience in our lifetime. Almost no one thought this renewal was remotely possible. The courage to rise from the ashes and turn one of the worst human tragedies into a thriving community helps put into perspective the challenges in our own lives.

Tulane University, in three years, will not only be more academically strong, but more financially sound than pre-Katrina. They did it without FEMA, state, or local assistance. Tulane has retained nearly 90% of their students, and almost every faculty member, and as a bonus, the University created a thriving business environment in Orleans Parish for everything from pizza parlors to elementary schools.

Following is a condensed summary of both Silverstein and Cowen's Milken Institute discussion.

From Silverstein:

1. Develop a thick skin for name-calling. Silverstein battled public opinion for three years including the New York Daily News headline "Butt Out, Larry."


2. Surround yourself with the best advice you can afford and then listen to them; lawyers, advisers, coaches, counselors, spouses. "After the attacks, I said to my wife, if you want me to go sailing, I'll do that. If you want me to rebuild the Trade Center, I'll do that. And she said to me, 'You know you won't be satisfied with anything except rebuilding, so let's get on with it.'"


3. Don't get deterred by naysayers. Stay focused on what you do the best. The final plan for Ground Zero owes a great deal to this single private developer and the marketplace that Silverstein believes in. He views the World Trade Center as the hub of New York's financial district and an important economic symbol that needs redevelopment. Says Silverstein, "I could have focused on the darkness, instead of the light at the end of the tunnel. Now I just want to stay around until it's completed."

From Cowen:

1. In a crisis, throw out the org chart. "Listen to those who are providing solutions, no matter where they reside in the organization."


2. Read the blogs. "I was able to understand and quickly respond to what was really on the minds of students, alumni, and the country by reading the blogs every single night. The next morning I was able to reply immediately to their concerns with reasonable and timely answers. I kept our football team playing that season because I could see that it was a visible and important unifying symbol. I communicated six times every day in all available formats, as thoughtfully and calmly as I knew how, with the best information I could gather."


3. Set a deadline. "Herculean efforts and specific outcomes will not happen without announced dates. Teams coalesce under deadlines. We set January 17, 2006 as our date to reopen. We made it. 87% of our students returned and almost 100% of our faculty. Other businesses and schools in our parish were able to aim for the same date to reopen as well."

So what is the lesson we can learn as business leaders? Just this. We can count on regular crisis in our personal and professional lives. Our power lies in our approach. Staying with possibility, looking for opportunity, and literally reinventing the present and the future will renew and rescue us. As James Clavell, author of the epic novel, Shogun, said, "It's all so simple. Just change your concept of the world."

Susan Bixler