Why Me vs. What Now: How Founders and Executives Survive a Crisis | Hinkson Law
A note from Ashley Futrell Hinkson, founder of Hinkson Law
Founders and executives who move through a crisis fastest share one habit. They stop asking why this happened and start asking what comes next. This is true whether the crisis is an FLSA lawsuit, a regulatory investigation, or a former executive shopping a story to a reporter. The legal facts vary. The posture that determines the outcome does not.
After enough of these matters, patterns emerge in the first conversation. The clients who handle a crisis well are not the ones with the most money, the deepest bench, or the best contacts. They are the ones who have been through hard things before. They built businesses from nothing. They failed and rebuilt. They understand that bad things happen to good people and that life is rarely fair.
They do not waste time asking Why me? They ask What now?
What the Victim Phase Looks Like
The founders and executives who struggle are the ones who cannot process that this is happening to them. They have been told they are exceptional for years. They have raised capital. They have won awards. They have been profiled. They know powerful people.
When the crisis hits, they freeze. This should not be happening to me. I did not do anything wrong. This is so unfair.
It may well be unfair. A founder can do everything right and still end up with a wage and hour claim, a government inquiry, or a board investigation. Whether the situation is fair is the wrong question. The question is what comes next.
The Tell in Public Statements
There is a tell in crisis response. When a person or a company issues more than one public statement about the same crisis, ego was involved in the first one and it did not land well. The second statement is usually cleaning up the damage the first one caused.
That is what happens when being right is the priority instead of being done.
What to Do When Your Business or Career Is in Crisis
The founders and executives who move through it do something simple. They take one positive step forward every day. Not ten steps. Not the perfect step. One.
They return the call. They review the settlement proposal. They make the hard staffing decision. They have the board conversation they have been avoiding. They sit for the interview their counsel has prepared them for. They do not wait until they feel ready. They do not wait until it is fair. They act.
The Choice in Front of You
Every crisis presents the same choice. Get stuck or move forward.
A founder can spend the next six months asking why this happened. Or that founder can spend the next six months solving the problem. The past is not on the table. The next decision is.
Crisis takes energy. Spending it on grievance leaves less for the work ahead. The why can wait.
One foot in front of the other. One step forward. Every day.
Hinkson Law represents founders, executives, and employers facing crisis, investigation, and regulatory exposure. To discuss a matter, contact the firm.
