Innovation evangelist, branding expert and entrepreneur Guy Kawasaki is no stranger to upsets and crises. Throughout his long career working with Apple, Mercedes Benz and Google, he’s had almost as many downs as ups, and has plenty of hard-won wisdom to share that can be applied to surviving the current pandemic. To this end, he recently put out an informative video sharing eleven of his choicest pieces of advice for business leaders trying to keep their heads above water.

Check out a sampling of his pointers below:

1. It’s important to be realistic. Optimism is wonderful but the virus can’t be defeated by blind positivity and bluster. It can be mitigated by making wise, if sometimes tough decisions.
2. Cut deeper than you think you should and react quickly. It’s better to do a little too much rather than too little.
3. Go direct with business partners and cut out the middlemen, especially if you manufacture physical goods. There’s a chance that big corporations like Amazon may put your products on the back burner and leave them gathering dust in a warehouse if demand isn’t high enough.
4. Don’t depend on politicians/ the government. It’s great if you do manage to get some extra funds from a government initiative, but those could dry up at any time. Waiting for miracles does not make for a good business strategy.

Listen to more of Guy’s  great tips by watching the full video here.