How two CEOs are responding
When speaking about values-driven leadership, we often remind people that values become most evident during difficult times. A company’s list of values may look nice on the website but mean very little if they are forgotten during challenging seasons, like the current coronavirus pandemic.
For this reason, we were especially moved by recent acts of generosity we saw from two of our partners.
Laura Sanchez-Greenberg runs the Chicago-based growth consultancy Verde Associates. Many of their clients are startups or entrepreneurial enterprises that are especially vulnerable to the financial challenges caused by the pandemic-driven slowdown of the economy. Within days of the start of social distancing, Sanchez-Greenberg already knew several of her clients would lose their businesses; many others are trying to scratch by.
Recognizing her team’s expertise could help individuals transform through this difficult time, Sanchez-Greenberg and her team of consultants went to work; they quickly created Verde Resilience, a 3-week, cohort-based program to help individuals navigate a professional transition. A $2500 value, Sanchez-Greenberg is making the program as affordable as possible for affiliates of her clients and partners. For clients or partners who have been laid off, the firm is waiving the fee.
We saw similar generosity from Dr. Lee Murphy, CEO of Inspera Health. Inspera works with people who have multiple chronic health conditions to help improve their quality of life. Business has slowed as non-COVID-19 healthcare is delayed, but that hasn’t stopped Murphy from finding ways to be generous. Most recently, he offered his team’s professional mental health services to members of a partner organization. “If you are feeling overwhelmed in the moment and it does not seem to clear and a chat with a licensed mental health professional would be helpful, let me know – we have these resources on our team and I can offer a couple calls (no charge) for those it would help,” he told his partners.
With both Sanchez-Greenberg and Murphy, we’re inspired by the way they’ve helped care for others, even as their own businesses struggled through the economic downturn created by the coronavirus. Do you know of other business leaders who are generously providing assistance to their communities? Share your stories at cvdl@ben.edu, and we may feature them on this website.
Find more stories of values-driven leadership in the face of the coronavirus pandemic at this link.