How to overcome tragedy and use it to your advantage

Jay Deutsch, co-founder and CEO of Bensussen Deutsch & Associates, Inc., a Woodinville, Washington-based branded merchandise agency wrote this for Entreprenuer.com and it is culled with the hope that you’d find some insights to using every situation to your advantage.

No company or CEO can prepare for the kind of tragedy I found myself faced with two years ago. Susan Brockert had been with my business for 15 years and had worked in just about every department. She was thoughtful, kind and always full of joy. Most of all, she was like family.
In May 2011, during an annual celebratory staff trip to Kona, Hawaii, the unthinkable happened. Coworkers heard screams from Susan’s hotel room, but by the time security broke down the door, it was too late. Susan had been brutally beaten to death by her boyfriend.
Once the police finished interviewing witnesses to Susan’s murder, all I could think was, “How am I going to tell the rest of the company?” and, “How am I going to tell Susan’s family?” At 3:30 a.m., I called our vice president of human resources back in Washington state.
She and a colleague were at Susan’s mother’s doorstep by 7 a.m. and arranged for a pastor to join them. Susan’s children were off to school and out of respect for the family, we kept things quiet until they got home and could talk to their grandmother.
We gathered all 66 employees who were with us on the trip early that morning. Sharing what had happened was the worst thing I’ve ever had to do. After that, we arranged a massive conference call including all 550 of our employees in 33 offices across the country.
...Continues next week