Julie Smolyansky on Leading with Resilience and Empathy During the Coronavirus Pandemic and Beyond
It’s safe to say Julie Smolyansky knows a thing or two about leading a company through tough times.
At 27, she unexpectedly became the CEO of her family business after the sudden death of her father—but it wasn’t just any family business. Overnight, she took the helm of Lifeway Foods, and in doing so, became the youngest female CEO of a publicly held, multi-million-dollar company. Despite the personal and professional challenges she faced from the beginning, the business immediately thrived under her leadership. Lifeway’s annual gross sales grew from $12M to $14.8M in her first year as CEO, and since then the company has even exceeded $120M in annual revenue.
She’s been named to Fortune’s 40 Under 40 List, Fortune’s 55 Most Influential Women on Twitter, included on Fast Company’s list of the Most 1000 Creative People in Business, and she was recently named a 2020 Champion of Wellness by VeryWell. Needless to say, we were so excited to hear the oft-lauded CEO speak on the topic of leading with resilience and empathy during the coronavirus pandemic—and beyond—at our Digital Summer Camp. Scroll on for some of the most memorable quotes from Smolyansky’s fireside chat with Create & Cultivate founder and CEO, Jaclyn Johnson.
On stepping into the role of CEO…
“Failure was not going to be an option.”
“I worked really hard. I used the business as a place where I could put my mourning and grieving pain and do something with it.”
“I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it.”
“Tough times are where you’re called on to rise—and you either rise or you don’t. Sink or swim.”
On honing her vision for the company…
“Educating people around gut health has been my mission from day one.”
“You have to tell your story over and over again. You have to tell the marketplace over and over again.”
“We’ve doubled down on advertising and marketing during some of the more troubling moments of crisis like 2008 for example when the economy was flattering, we saw that as an opportunity and we doubled our advertising and that paid off. Some of our biggest growth happened during the recession.”
“We’ve adapted at every point in time and every point in our history.”
“We’re constantly learning and adapting and evolving.”
“What I know for sure is that what everyone wants is health. They want health, they want wellness, they want to feed their families good, nutritious food.”
On scaling a team…
“If I can delegate and let other people take the plan and execute it, it’s much more empowering for them and more fun, and then I can focus on the big picture.”
“It was a slow process of giving up that control because I was so used to doing it all myself.”
“It’s about working on your business, not in your business.”
On her advice for fellow female leaders...
“Even if you’re afraid, speak up. Use your voice. Keep raising your hand.”
“No one gives you power, you just have to take it.”
“If you’re not at the table, you’re the meal.”
“Keep being brave. Bravery is a muscle. It’s like your gut, it’s like your bicep—you keep using it, you keep getting stronger.”
On doing good during COVID-19...
“Lifeway was originally started with this idea to feed people.”
“My family survived war and famine and disease and all sorts of things in the Soviet Union during a painful time in history, so feeding people has always been super important to us.”
“30% of kids in the Chicagoland public school system are food insecure and rely on the school system’s lunch as their one nutritious meal a day—and suddenly they weren’t going to have it overnight.
“We immediately started unlocking and deploying our emergency response plan to reach those communities most impacted.”
“There is no more sacred purpose than to feed people and bring them wellness.”
“We’ve been working 24/7 just to keep food on people’s tables.”
On finding the silver lining through COVID-19...
“This crisis has shown us how vulnerable we are and how in-lock and connected we are to each other. Our safety and security and health depend on each other. We are interlocked with each other.”
“We’re starting to see that we are all really in it together and that we can show up for each other.”
On advice for anyone struggling during COVID...
“Don’t stop. Keep going. Hold your head up high. Find moments of joy for yourself. Trust the process, trust the universe. Trust that all of this is happening not to you but for you.”