Surviving Now, Thriving Tomorrow

These can be scary times. Our thoughts first go to our loved ones, our employees and customers and all their families and friends. I have to keep reminding myself that as long as we are healthy, every other problem is secondary to some extent.

I went through the 2008 crisis as the founder of my last company, Aster Data. I was witnessing Silicon Valley history when I attended the infamous “RIP Good Times” meeting that our investor, Sequoia, put together to warn their founders of impending catastrophe. Nearly 12 years later, Sequoia (now an ActionIQ investor) again sent a warning of Coronavirus being the “Black Swan” of 2020. It’s hard for me to avoid feelings of deja vu.

The bleak reality, however, is that the current situation has gone way beyond the last financial crisis. But lessons learned can still apply. After 2008 came and went we discovered that the crisis didn’t create a new reality; it just accelerated the reality that was already coming.

And herein lies the positive message. The urgent need to adapt to the current extreme situation is also an opportunity to drive the necessary changes to thrive in the long term, months and years after the situation normalizes.

With this in mind, we are bringing together marketing executives and industry experts from brands such as American Eagle Outfitters, Avis Budget Group, Dunkin’ Brands, Helmut Lang, Gap, Inc., Google, Mass Mutual, Theory and more to share their customer experience strategies and best practices through a series of live, virtual sessions that begin Thursday, April 2nd. This series titled, Customer Experience Management: The New Reality, will be available free to all on a first-come, first-served basis. Registration is required.

This crisis is brutal and unfair, in so many ways. But at the same time it’s an opportunity for leaders to enact change in months that otherwise would have taken years. The companies that come out of this crisis stronger will be the ones who took bold action in time of great uncertainty.