In a Crisis, Attention Is the Decision
Chaos has a sound. The Slack thread that won't stop. Reporters are asking for comment. The board is demanding answers for a headline that appeared overnight.
Everyone wants your attention — and everyone thinks they matter.
Your job isn't to respond to everything. It's to decide what counts.
Most leaders don't realize their mistake until they've already lost control of the moment. Without a system, you react. You give equal weight to voices that don't shape the outcome, while the ones who do are left waiting.
People say leaders need thick skin. What they actually need is clarity — on who they're actually accountable to, and the discipline to treat everyone else accordingly.
When Microsoft moved to acquire Activision Blizzard for $69 billion, the opposition was loud. Competitors, politicians, media. Microsoft ignored most of it and focused on the only stakeholders who could stop the deal: regulators in the US, UK, and EU. The deal closed. The noise was real. It just wasn't relevant.
The 70/25/5 rule
Most leaders invert the math. Here's what it should look like:
- 70% of your attention goes to people who can directly impact your license to operate — regulators, your board, key investors, critical customers, and the employees you can't afford to lose.
- 25% goes to the people who influence those stakeholders — analysts, industry experts, trade press.
- 5% goes to everyone else.
That last group is the noise. It's loudest. It matters least.
"Investors matter" isn't a strategy. Which investors?
A long-term value investor wants to know you won't overreact. A short-term growth investor wants to know how quickly you can contain the issue. Same crisis, completely different expectations.
The same logic applies to employees. You're not leading "the workforce." You're leading distinct groups with different stakes in the outcome. Build simple personas: Where do they get information? What do they fear? What earns their trust? Then communicate to them — not to whoever is loudest that day.
Don't go silent. Don't speculate.
If you don't speak, people will decide what happened without you. That doesn't mean rushing out half-truths or making promises you can't keep. It means sharing the most complete picture you have, and being explicit about what comes next.
Cadence matters as much as content. Regular updates prevent a vacuum. Silence creates one.
Show the tradeoffs, not just the conclusions
There are no perfect decisions in volatile conditions — only tradeoffs. Leaders lose trust when they pretend otherwise.
Show the math instead:
- What you chose
- What you gave up
- What you need from people now
Use the same structure every time so people can follow your logic, not just your outcome.
The counsel that holds you together
Challenge without support creates paralysis. Support without challenge creates delusion. You need both — and they rarely come from the same person.
When the noise peaks, go back to why you took the job. Not the title or the comp. The thing you set out to do.
That's what keeps you from being pulled in every direction.