Company Blog

How do you handle an emergency?

by Adam Zack — September 14, 2022

“I gotta piss!”

Last week I was in Alaska. We were in a smallish raft with a group of other tourists, navigating our way down the Mendenhall River. The beauty of surrounding forest – millions and millions of trees, snow covered mountains, bald eagles nesting – put me in awe of just how beautiful nature is.

We were sitting in the very front of the raft, past through some very tepid rapids, when suddenly from behind us this older man exclaims “I gotta piss!”. The guide, who was paddling and steering the raft, looked a little perplexed and told them man that we would be in our destination in about 20 minutes, and could he possibly “hold it”. After all, there are no rest stops or porta-pottys along the river, and besides that, there was no clear beach where we could just row in, let the man disembark and go into the forest to soil some unlucky tree.

We continued on, and about 10 minutes later, the man says again “I gotta piss!”. I was thankful that we were in the front of the raft, in case he couldn’t hold it and piss started flowing down the bottom of the raft onto people’s shoes. Luckily, (I think – I didn’t look close) he held on until we landed on shore. It got me thinking about how great leaders handle emergencies, which in the grocery business seem to happen at least weekly. Refrigeration systems down, air conditioning broken, shoplifters, employee revolts, product shortages, new competition and so many more. The great leaders plan what to do in case of an emergency. They have plans and systems in place. They stay calm and therefore keep their teams calm. It’s as if when the piss is coming, the Depends are already on.

If leaders can stay grounded, they create confidence and stability even in the middle of chaos. The best leaders don’t just react in the moment; they anticipate what could go wrong, and they build systems that can absorb the shock of sudden disruptions without throwing everyone into disarray. That kind of foresight not only keeps operations running smoothly but also strengthens trust within the team, because everyone knows there’s a plan in place when things inevitably go sideways.

In the business world, emergencies often show up in the form of critical systems failing, which can grind operations to a halt if not addressed quickly. That’s why having experts ready to respond makes all the difference. Services highlighted by Lee’s Air demonstrate how essential it is to have reliable support when heating, cooling, or refrigeration systems fail unexpectedly. Just as strong leaders keep their teams calm during unpredictable challenges, dependable service providers step in to restore order when vital infrastructure breaks down. This combination of foresight and trustworthy backup ensures that disruptions don’t spiral into disasters, allowing businesses to keep moving forward with confidence no matter what surprises come their way.