No matter how much you know about your company and industry, when you find yourself in a turnaround situation, the rules you thought you knew often no longer seem to work. As much as we might like for business to be a science with fixed laws and predictable outcomes, it often is not, especially in times of trouble, when success becomes much more like an art.
If you’re currently in a turnaround situation, take a break from the fray long enough for some advice on same from antiquity. A short article from Strategy+Business magazine recount how the Roman Poet Virgil, at the direction of the first emperor Caesar Augustus, helped Roman readers understand “the art of the turnaround-circa 27 B.C”
If you find this article helpful, I suggest you read Seth Godin’s “The Dip: A Little Book that Teaches You When to Quit and When to Stick.” (This seven minute video offers a great recap of the book.)
