Boardroom communication during crisis – the 24-hour rule

Why the first 24 hours are key for the wallet

Most boardroom disputes we handled in 2024 started with a trivial misunderstanding during a Tuesday meeting at 9:00 AM. If the partners do not establish the facts within the first 24 hours, emotions enter the game, distorting reality. We have seen cases where a lack of response to one email regarding the purchase of a machine for 420,000 PLN led to a complete break in contact between two founders for 3 weeks. During this time, the company lost 4 key contracts because no one had the authority to sign agreements. Our statistics from the last 7 years show that 83% of conflicts can be nipped in the bud if both parties commit to presenting their arguments in writing within exactly 24 hours of the dispute occurring.

We talk specifically about numbers because they have no emotions. When 4 conflicted directors sit in a boardroom, each has a different version of events from the past month. The 24-hour rule forces the collection of hard data: account statements, CRM reports, or emails from subcontractors. Instead of talking about who doesn't like whom, partners must look at the Excel sheet, which shows the real state of cash. At Arka Przymierza, we teach how to isolate the problem from the person. If the dispute concerns a marketing budget of 18,500 PLN per month, we focus on that amount and its return, not on whose relative runs the advertising agency. This approach saved 14 of our clients from going to court in the first half of this year alone.

A mistake that repeats in 9 out of 13 small companies is an attempt to solve the problem 'hotly' over the phone. Emotions are at their peak then, and words spoken in anger stay in memory for years. The 24-hour rule gives time to cool down. We then introduce a so-called communication quarantine. For the first 24 hours, partners cannot send each other text messages or call with complaints. They can only fill out a short form in which they describe what happened and what they expect. Such a method allowed us to unblock the decision-making process in one Warsaw wholesaler in just 19 hours. Discretion is our standard, so all these notes remain only for the mediator and the parties to see.

Numbers don't lie, which is why in a crisis they should speak first, instead of aggrieved partners.

Blocking information channels and its financial consequences

When a conflict occurs, a natural reaction is to cut oneself off from the other side. We have seen boards where CEOs did not speak to each other for 47 days, communicating only through assistants. This generates huge hidden costs. In a manufacturing company from near Poznan with which we worked in March 2024, such a situation caused an incorrect order for raw materials for 89,000 PLN because no one verified the warehouse status with the sales department. The 24-hour rule prevents such absurdities. It forces maintaining a minimum level of operational communication, even if personal relationships are in ruins. We close disputes, we open businesses – this is our slogan, which we realize by restoring document circulation.

Employees cannot be shown that the top is cracked. As soon as the team senses a conflict in the management board, efficiency drops by about 23% in the first week. People start to fear for their jobs and instead of working, they gossip in the kitchen. At Arka Przymierza, we suggest issuing a short internal message within 24 hours of a crisis outbreak. It doesn't have to be detailed. Information that work on process optimization is ongoing and all salaries will be paid on time, i.e., by the 10th of the month, is enough. Such a simple move calms the moods of 8 out of 10 employees. We carried out such communication audits in holdings employing 156 people and the effects were visible immediately.

We save transactions on the edge when one side tries to break off negotiations because of personal resentment towards a partner. Then the 24-hour rule acts as a fuse. We ask clients to refrain from sending an email about breaking off cooperation for one day. In 67% of cases after sleeping through the night and recalculating the losses resulting from contractual penalties (which often reach 50,000 PLN and more), our clients decide to mediate. This is not a matter of being nice, it's a pure economic calculation. In business, there is no place for taking offense when the survival of a company built over 8 or 12 years is at stake.

The role of the mediator as a guardian of the clock

At Arka Przymierza, we are not theorists. Our team consists of 5 practitioners who know what working under time pressure looks like. When we enter a company in crisis, the first thing we do is set a rigid schedule for the next 3 days. Each session lasts 90 minutes – not a minute longer. This prevents the blurring of problems and fruitless complaining. In April 2024, we helped a construction company where two brothers could not agree on the sale of a plot for 1.2 million PLN. Thanks to the imposed time discipline and the 24-hour rule for making a decision, they signed a settlement on Thursday at 4:30 PM, avoiding a costly trial that would probably last about 3 years.

Discretion is our standard, not a promise. The mediator appears in the office as a 'process consultant' so as not to arouse suspicion among the competition or employees. Within the first day, we conduct individual conversations with each board member. each of these people has 30 minutes to vent all their grievances. Then we return to the facts. If someone claims that a partner is stealing, they must show specific invoices. If there are none, the topic disappears from the agenda within 5 minutes. Such an approach shortens the duration of the conflict by about 64%. We don't waste time on guesses, we are only interested in hard evidence and concrete solutions.

The 24-hour rule also applies to us. We respond to every message from a client in a state of crisis within a maximum of 3.2 hours. We know that in disputes between partners, every minute of uncertainty intensifies the tension. Our office at 44 Jerozolimskie Ave. in Warsaw is open from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM, but in extreme situations our mediators are available by phone also on Saturdays. In 2023, we conducted 87 mediation sessions, of which only 6 did not end in agreement. This is a result we owe precisely to the rigorous keeping of deadlines and not allowing emotional 'interjections' to speak.

A mediator is not there to judge who is right, but to remind how much every hour of arguing costs.

How to formulate a crisis exit protocol

After the first day and collecting data, we move on to creating a document we call a discrepancy protocol. It's a simple list: what we agree on and what divides us. Usually it turns out that the common points constitute 72% of the whole, and the dispute concerns only the remaining 28%. In May, we worked with a family bakery where a conflict over the purchase of a new oven for 63,000 PLN almost led to the company's collapse. After writing down the protocol, it turned out that both brothers wanted the same increase in efficiency and only differed in their assessment of the credit risk. With this on paper, we found a solution in the form of a lease with a lower installment in less than 2 hours.

The protocol must contain dates and names of the people responsible for specific steps. If we agree that by next Friday partner A will prepare a profit report from the branch in Krakow, then it must be recorded. Lack of specifics is fuel for further quarrels. At Arka Przymierza, we ensure that every arrangement is measurable. Instead of writing 'we will improve communication', we write 'every email with a price inquiry above 5,000 PLN will be copied to the second partner'. These are simple, mechanical rules that work in 4 out of 5 cases. They allow regaining peace of mind and focusing on what is most important – on earning money.

Many company owners fear that mediation is an admission of failure. The truth is that the failure is the loss of 12% margin annually through internal games. The 24-hour rule makes people realize that time is not only money but also health. Chronic stress in the boardroom leads to professional burnout in key leaders in less than 11 months. Our support allows shortening this time of suffering to a few days of intensive work on a solution. We close disputes, we open businesses – because we know that after signing a settlement, most of our clients record an increase in revenues by an average of 14% in the next quarter thanks to unblocking energy.

Implementation of the 24-hour rule in your company

You don't have to wait for a huge fire to introduce these rules. You can do it today by adding an appropriate provision to the partnership agreement or management board regulations. We recommend that every company with more than 3 employees should have an established mode of proceeding in case of a decision-making impasse. It's like an insurance policy. At Arka Przymierza, we help formulate such provisions so that they are in accordance with Polish commercial law, but at the same time understandable for everyone. In 2024, we prepared such audits for 31 small enterprises from the service sector. The cost of preparing such a document is usually a fraction of what a law firm takes for one hour of a trial in a district court.

Start by appointing a person who will serve as a 'fuse'. It could be a trusted accountant or an external advisor who is not emotionally involved in daily activities. This person has the right to trigger the 24-hour rule when they see that the discussion ceases to be substantive. In one Warsaw transport agency where 12 people work, such a role is performed by a head accountant with 14 years of experience. Thanks to this, disputes over fuel costs or servicing cars are resolved in the bud before they reach the drivers. This builds a culture of responsibility and respect for everyone's time.

If you feel that the temperature in your boardroom is rising and you are approaching a wall, don't delay. Every day of delay is a real loss of cash and customer trust. You can write to us at biuro@arkaprzymierza-mediacje.pl and describe the situation in two sentences. We will answer specifically if we can help and how much it will cost. We don't promise miracles, we promise a professional process based on numbers and facts. Book a consultation date for Thursday so we can jointly check if the 24-hour rule will save your transaction or cooperation with a partner with whom you have been building this company for years.