A couple of years ago, I was cycling from Canada to Mexico. It was a lengthy adventure; what was the worst that could happen? A crash? A bear? One morning at around 8 am, the mist was just lifting from the ground and I was cycling down the highway, alone. I was zooming downhill, through a tree-lined pass, when I turned the corner – and there, right in front of me on the road, was a big brown bear. I was going too fast to stop; the bear was too close. I was headed right for him.

If you’re in business you probably have your own, nightmare scenario. So what if it came true? Do you know what you would do?

It happened to a member of one of my Vistage groups, who found himself smack bang in the middle of his worst case scenario. Let’s call him Matthew.

Matthew was the sales director for his family’s business. His father, who headed the company, suffered a stroke and was rushed to hospital. Matthew was left in charge. His father had always reassured him that the business was extremely successful. However Matthew quickly discovered that the company was on the brink of collapse, with creditors baying for payment. He had little experience of financial matters, and with his father in hospital he had nobody with whom he could discuss the situation. The business, which had been in his family for generations, was about to go under. He was terrified: he didn’t know what to do, or even what he wanted.

What would your next step be, if you were Matthew?

With the help of his fellow Vistage members, this is what he did.

1. Although Matthew didn’t know what he wanted, he knew what he didn’t want. He didn’t want the business to go under. He didn’t want to put his family at risk. At the same time, he hoped that he wouldn’t have to work around the clock to bring the business back from the brink; he was convinced that a punishing work scheduled had contributed to his father’s ill health.
2. Matthew also knew what he didn’t know. He didn’t know how to interrogate management accounts. Like (too) many CEOs, he was financially illiterate. He also knew that because of the pressing nature of the situation, he didn’t have time to learn.
3. With the business just days away from closing, Matthew realised that he needed to bring good people in. He put out feelers, and found a highly-recommended management accountant. The accountant took him by the hand, adopting a highly strategic focus, helping him to restructure the business, taking control of the numbers and accompanying Matthew to the all-important meeting with the bank.
4. Together, Matthew and the accountant looked at the three ‘C’s: Cash, Customers and Costs. Cash: how could the company generate cash quickly? Customers: which customers were unprofitable? Costs: it was time to face up to the brutal fact that a profitable company with a reduced headcount was preferable to a company that employed twice as many people, but was going bust. Matthew cut his staff roll by half – and the bank agreed to a refinancing deal.

Matthew’s father recovered from his stroke, and has since retired. As for Matthew: conquering his worst fear has given him the confidence to move forward. Today he isn’t a financial wizard, but he is on top of his numbers and he looks to the future, rather than the present. The result: his industry is in a state of near-collapse, but Matthew’s company is thriving.

And just in case you were wondering: I didn’t crash into that bear. As my bicycle careered towards him, the bear looked round at me. “What in blazes are you doing here?” said his eyes. For me it was too late to scream, shout or do anything. At the last possible moment, the bear took the wise decision to slip away into the heavy undergrowth at the side of the road. He moved fluidly and at lightning speed, and was gone.

What came of the experience was a lot of adrenaline: I cycled for another three hours without stopping. I discovered that facing your worst fear isn’t pleasant, but it is exhilarating.