Profit and Principle

Leading Through Crisis


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Every leader gets a crisis. You don’t get to choose whether it comes. You only get to choose what you do with it when it arrives. 

Episode Summary 

Crisis communication plans and business continuity documents are useful. But they don’t address the central variable in a real crisis: what does the leader do with the fear? Fear narrows your vision, accelerates your impulse to act before you’ve thought clearly, and floods your mind with worst-case outcomes. The leaders who navigate crisis well aren’t the ones who don’t feel that fear. They’re the ones who have something to put underneath them when the ground moves. 

This episode draws from three passages — Psalm 46, 2 Chronicles 20, and Isaiah 43 — to build a biblical framework for crisis leadership that is operational, not just devotional. You’ll see what Jehoshaphat’s prayer and two 2020 hospitality leaders have in common, and you’ll walk away with two disciplines to build before the next crisis lands on your desk. 

What You’ll Learn 

  • Why the most important thing a leader can do in the first hours of a crisis isn’t to fix the problem — and what to do instead 
  • What the Hebrew word for ‘very present’ in Psalm 46:1 actually means, and why it changes the way you read that promise 
  • Why Jehoshaphat’s prayer — “we do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you” — is one of the most operationally useful things in Scripture for a leader in crisis 
  • What two hospitality leaders did differently in 2020 — and why one made it while the other restructured twice 
  • Two concrete disciplines: one to build now, and one five-word practice to deploy the moment the next crisis hits 

 

Scripture References 

Psalm 46:1–3 — God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble 

2 Chronicles 20:12 — We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you 

Isaiah 43:2 — When you pass through the waters, I will be with you 

 

Key Quote 

“Sandra gave her team something Greg couldn’t: a leader who was stable when the ground was moving. That stability didn’t come from certainty about the future. It came from certainty about something deeper.” 

 

Timestamps 

0:00  —  Hook and Introduction 

2:05  —  Why This Matters in Business 

4:40  —  What Scripture Says 

8:45  —  Illustration 

12:32  —  Application 

16:00  —  Encouragement and Prayer 

 

Call to Action 

If you’re in the middle of something hard right now, this episode was written for you — listen today. And if things are good right now, that’s exactly when to listen — because the anchor gets built before you need it. 

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Profit and PrincipleBy Darrell Stein