Adversities are not always bad

In my previous life, when I was a hotel manager, it was normal to be faced with emergencies as part of the line of work.
As a customer, on the contrary, I had never been confronted by such a serious inconvenience as was caused by the Atahotel Executive of Milan, owned by the Unipol Group, which unexpectedly closed down, leaving us without a venue for our annual TFP Summit, the job fair that attracts thousands of people from all over Italy every year. The event was to be held the following week, hence the obvious sense of bewilderment.
Because of its features, the event needed to be held in a very large hall in a prestige facility, in a central city area easy to reach by public transport, especially by subway. Once identified the location, there would be the problem of adapting a model already defined with the Executive, and informing companies and visitors (thousands of people) about the change in venue.
Everything had to be done within a few days.
A viable solution was the Milan Marriott Hotel, which was fortunately available on that date. We started from there to redefine the event, working hard at all levels, without worrying too much about the additional costs that were adding up. That was a matter for the lawyers.
How did it end? Well, very well. Fearing that on the morning of the event many people would still go to the Executive, I came to the office early in order to answer calls and provide information as to how to reach the Marriott; incredibly, however, there was not one call. Everybody was aware of the change in venue. A miracle! Or, possibly, we had done a good job.
The participants’ approval level was excellent. The location turned out to be better than the previous one, and we only received positive comments.
The message? Two proverbs come to mind: ?there is always some good in evil? and ?good arises out of bad?. Challenges have to be met with resolve and flexibility, being aware that in a complex economic system everything does not always go like clockwork, but it is nonetheless necessary to take responsibility and supply adequate solutions. That is how you earn respect.