Читать книгу Start With a Win - Adam Contos - Страница 15

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, many companies questioned their survivability. The real estate industry came to a grinding halt. We couldn't physically go into other people's homes; transactions stopped abruptly. Some homebuyers in the middle of the purchase process even found themselves homeless.

But the lockdown presented new opportunity for those people, companies, and leaders willing to dig deeply into the challenges and find ways to progress, accelerate, and adapt. RE/MAX recognized that our business had taken on a life-essential urgency for some people. We had two choices: do nothing or devise new ways to address the roadblocks, take action, and overcome the problems.

We locked our physical doors and went virtual March 13, 2020. Our executive team's first virtual meetings were scary—all gloom and doom because we knew our cash would last less than a year. We also recognized that, as a public company, we had to maintain value for our shareholders and keep our franchisees’ companies solvent.

We resolved to refocus our leadership and solve the problems because hundreds of thousands of people were looking to us for solutions. Among the questions we faced:

 How do we reopen for business when we can no longer follow our usual procedures?

 How do we reconnect with our customers when their new mindset is “closed for business”?

 How do we manage a public company's budget when cash flow stops?

The fear and stress facing our leadership team—and so many tens of thousands of other companies—turned into action as we explored our opportunities. After all, when faced with challenges, leaders create opportunities. We stepped up and provided answers for our company, our franchisees, our shareholders, and ourselves.