"Spiritual vaccine" for businesses

Dr. Gian Tu Trung, Principal of the PACE Institute of Management

In the thousands of years of human history, humanity has never had to go through a crisis as deep and wide as the current one.

- What should businesses act to survive and overcome the COVID-19 crisis, sir?

The COVID-19 pandemic has paralyzed every aspect of our life, with devastating coverage on every individual, every family, every country around the world. No one, no business can escape the impact of this crisis.

In the past, epidemics were also raging, but because the world was not open like today, traffic and communication were not developed, so their spread was limit ed, and people could actively lock down each location, each country to stamp out the epidemic. But now, traffic and communication have developed so strongly, the whole world is almost under the same roof in terms of geography and communication, pushing the crisis to an unprecedented extent in human history in all aspects and all levels.

The Covid-19 crisis has deprived many people of so many things, such as loved ones, jobs, money, opportunities, freedom... If it didn’t rob us of something, it would deprive others of so much that we feel heartache. I am very impressed with the words of Karl Marx in the film "Kindness" by director Tran Van Thuy: "Only the beast turns its back on the pain of its fellow human beings to take care of its skin", humans cannot do this.

Currently, there are many kinds of the COVID-19 vaccine around the world, however, it may take a lot of time to vaccinate 70% of the population to achieve herd immunity. While waiting for the COVID-19 vaccine, I think that each of us, each business also needs to prepare for their own another vaccine, which is the "spiritual vaccine".

If anyone who is spiritually strong could better overcome the current crisis than those who are not.

- How can we make our own "spiritual vaccine", sir?

For a "spiritual vaccine", the first thing we need to do is to clarify what the concept of "health" is? As defined by the World Health Organization (WHO), a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. That is, physical wellbeing is not necessarily healthy.

A person with good mental health must first have peace of mind. It means that he (she) doesn't do bad things. Besides, he (she) is to have trust in life and hope in the future. Without these things, it’s hard for him (her) to be spiritually healthy. 

However, peace of mind and faith in life is not enough to help get good mental health. Because, some people who kill people and steal things during the day, still sleep  very well at night, and their souls are extremely peaceful. Why? Because they lack the third element, which is common sense. For good people, if they did bad things or evil things, their souls wouldn’t be at peace.

Another definition of MetalHealth.gov I consider quite complete: “Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices”. 

Good mental health will help us realize, unlock our full potential, control all stresses arising in life and work, work effectively, and make meaningful contributions to the organization and society. Those are very meaningful values.

- The entrepreneurs need more standards than others, sir?

Right. Leaders of a mentally healthy business can help their employees get good mental health, thereby helping the business with mental health. It can be said that the mental health of people will determine that of the business.

There are three most obvious manifestations of poor mental health: pain, fear, and panic. Therefore, the best way to get rid of pain is to let go. If you want to fight your fear, you have to find a way out. And if you want to get out of panic, you have to find stability from the insider. At the same time, you should hope for the best and always prepare for the worst. Otherwise, it will be very easy for you to be in pain, fear, panic. That's how we live with the times and overcome all difficulties.

- Covid-19 vaccine plus "spiritual vaccine" will not be enough for businesses to overcome the current crisis, if they don’t adapt to the new context, sir?

Yes, recently, we often talk about the concept of "the new normal". Here, we should realize that the current context has changed a lot, even if we were vaccinated, we would be ready to "live long" with the COVID-19 pandemic. Because the SARS-CoV-2 virus has constantly mutated into different variants that are stronger and more dangerous than previous ones.

One thing is for sure, this pandemic will have a terrible impact on humanity, forcing us to live differently, do differently, lead differently, study differently, play differently... Any things that never happened before will happen now. However, changing for the better or the worse is a matter of personal choice.

- How should entrepreneurs act to deal with the COVID-19 crisis, sir?

In the COVID-19 crisis, there are 3 ways of thinking: holding back, adapting, breaking through, which one do we choose?

Do not wait for death, adapt to survive amid the pandemic. What is higher than adaptation is to create a new era for yourself and your business.

For example, in the new era, people are becoming more and more independent and free, so it is difficult for us to manage or lead successfully in the old way. Because governance is different from rules, leadership is different from rulership, businessmen are different from riches and merchants, freedom is different from wildness, faith is different from superstition, personality is different from monstrousness… 

The pandemic doesn't only cause disasters but also gives humanity in general and each person in particular, a valuable "quiet" to rethink fundamental issues of human life, people, success, happiness, and work. If the pandemic didn't happen, people would have no "quiet", because the busy life will take us forever, but make us forget important things.

I think, in this period if you only think about "survival", this probability will not be high. If you have a "breakthrough" mindset, you will not only survive but also create new opportunities for your business. At that time, business leaders will motivate their employees to create a new era. What is lost is already lost, if you only feel pain, you will get more exhausted. Just get up and find a way out, adapt, break through, and create!

Thank you!