You can build a resilient business without pretending uncertainty will go away.
In January 2026, I sat down with Toivo Halvorsen, a hospitality and short-term rental entrepreneur whose career has been shaped by two major shocks, the Great Recession and COVID. He does not talk like someone selling a framework. He talks like someone who has lived it.
The conversation kept circling back to one idea.
You stay in the game. You let reality teach you. You keep your relationships strong. You keep your body moving. You stop treating every hit like a verdict.
That mindset matters because business stress is not rare, it is normal. The Great Recession ran from December 2007 to June 2009. Unemployment peaked at 10.0% in October 2009. A decade later, COVID created a different kind of shock, fast drops in demand, high fear, and constant change.
Here is what Toivo’s story offers you, practical tools you can use today.
First, choose the heart path, then build the plan
Toivo described a moment many leaders know. He made the “responsible” choice once, and his head won. His heart felt crushed. Years later, he chose adventure. He stayed in New York. He did not have the full plan yet. He had a direction.
That is not recklessness. It is leadership.
Tool you can use today: the two-column decision check
Use this when you feel split between “practical” and “right.”
Column 1, what stays true if you choose this path
Write 5 facts. Keep them neutral. No emotional words.
For example, “I can pay my bills,” “I keep health insurance,” “I avoid risk for 6 months.”
Column 2, what becomes possible if you choose this path
Write 5 possibilities. Still keep them concrete.
For example, “I meet new clients,” “I learn a new market,” “I build a skill I can reuse.”
Then ask one question.
Which choice keeps me in the game longer.
This moves you away from panic, and toward durability.
Second, treat business like experiments, not identity
Toivo described something many founders learn late. Most things you try will not work the first time. That is not failure, that is the process. He referenced the idea that large companies run many launches that never make it. The point is simple. You test in real life. You learn. You adjust. You try again.
Tool you can use today: the 30-minute experiment cycle
Pick one problem you face right now.
Examples, slow response time, messy handoffs, inconsistent quality, lost leads.
Run this cycle:
- Define the problem in one sentence.
Example, “We lose leads because we respond after 24 hours.” - Choose one tiny change you can run for 7 days.
Example, “We respond within 2 hours during business hours.” - Pick one metric.
Example, “Time to first response.” - Schedule one review.
Example, 15 minutes on Friday.
A small test beats a perfect plan that never starts.
Third, build relationship capital before you need it
When COVID hit, Toivo saw something clearly. Where his team had real relationships with decision-makers, the business held. Where the relationship was distant or layered, it broke.
That is a hard truth, and it is also useful.
In volatile seasons, relationships become infrastructure.
Tool you can use today: the 10-minute relationship audit
List your top 10 revenue sources, partners, or referral channels.
Next to each, mark one:
A, direct relationship with a decision-maker
B, indirect relationship through layers
C, transactional, no real relationship
Then choose one move for each category.
For A relationships, protect them.
Action, set a simple cadence. One check-in a month. One value share. One honest update.
For B relationships, deepen them.
Action, ask for a direct connection. Or schedule a call with the true decision-maker.
For C relationships, do not build your business on them.
Action, keep them, but do not depend on them.
If your revenue depends on people, your leadership must include relationship work.
Fourth, adopt the 3-day rule after a business hit
One of the most practical insights Toivo shared was about emotional recovery. When a major hit happens, it can rattle you. You can feel like everything is collapsing. Then three or four days later, the world looks different.
This is not “positive thinking.” This is nervous system reality.
Tool you can use today: the 3-day rule
When something hits hard, do not make big decisions in the first 72 hours unless you must.
In those 72 hours, do three things:
- Stabilize the basics.
Sleep, eat, hydrate, move. - Capture facts.
Write what happened. What changed. What you know. What you do not know. - Hold off on meaning.
Do not decide “this is the end.” Decide “this is new information.”
If you lead people, this matters even more. Your team will read your tone before they read your plan.
Fifth, stop treating people leaving as disaster
Toivo reframed a common leadership fear. Leaders get taught to obsess over retention. Retention matters, but so does timing. Sometimes people leave because it is time. That does not mean you failed. It may mean the system worked.
Tool you can use today: the clean exit process
If someone leaves, run a short, respectful process that protects the person and the team.
- Ask two questions.
“What made you stay as long as you did?”
“What would you change if you were me?” - Document role truth.
Write down what the person actually did, not what the job description said. - Extract the system lesson.
Did they leave because of pay, growth path, role confusion, workload, culture drift, or misfit. - Share the learning with the team.
Do it without blame. Keep it specific.
This turns turnover into operational clarity.
Sixth, use movement as a leadership tool, not a hobby
Toivo recommended yoga as a tool for leaders because it supports inner stability. Yoga is widely used to support stress management, and NCCIH summarizes research on yoga for stress and well-being. (NCCIH)
You do not need to become a yoga person to use the core lesson.
Your body holds stress. Your mind follows your body.
Also, basic movement is one of the highest-return health behaviors available. CDC guidance recommends adults get at least 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, plus muscle-strengthening activity on two or more days a week.
Tool you can use today: the 6-minute reset
Use this between meetings or before a hard conversation.
1 minute, slow breathing
In through the nose, out longer than in.
2 minutes, simple mobility
Neck rolls, shoulder circles, hip circles.
2 minutes, grounded movement
Walk. Stairs. Air squats. Nothing fancy.
1 minute, intention
Ask, “What do I want to bring into the next 30 minutes.”
This is not wellness branding. This is leadership regulation.
Seventh, separate thoughts from truth
Toivo said something that many leaders struggle to practice. You are not your thoughts. You are not your emotions. You can observe them without obeying them.
That idea matters because “I do not have time” often shows up as a thought, not a fact.
Tool you can use today: name the thought
When you hear yourself say, “I do not have time,” change the language.
Instead of “I do not have time,” say:
“I am having the thought that I do not have time.”
Then ask:
“What is the smallest version of this that still helps me.”
If you cannot do 45 minutes of movement, do 6 minutes.
If you cannot do a full strategy day, do a 30-minute experiment.
If you cannot fix everything, protect the one relationship that carries the most weight.
Small wins keep you in motion.
What this means for you, this week
If you want to apply the conversation fast, use this simple plan:
Day 1
Run the relationship audit. Choose one relationship to protect.
Day 2
Pick one operational problem. Set a 7-day experiment.
Day 3
Add the 6-minute reset between two meetings.
Day 4
Write one two-column decision check for the hardest choice on your desk.
Day 5
Review what you learned. Keep what worked. Drop what did not.
This is how resilient leaders operate.
They do not wait for certainty.
They build capacity inside uncertainty.
They stay present.
They stay connected.
They stay in the game.