Every organization faces tough times. It’s not a matter of whether, but when you’ll run into turbulence. The interesting question is how will you navigate it.

Why is it that some organizations break under the strain of hard times while others navigate storms with grace and emerge stronger than before? I’m not cocky enough to pretend I know all of the reasons. But I have had the good fortune to be involved with organizations that successfully weathered some pretty severe storminess. Looking back at those experiences leads me to one inescapable conclusion: passion in the workplace matters when times get tough (that’s passion for the organization, not for the hot looking guy/gal you work with).

Passion burns away fear and pettiness. It inspires extraordinary effort, and somehow clears the way for creativity and resourcefulness to work their magic. A passionate team is powerful force. It doesn’t break up in rough waters, and when calm returns, a passionate team makes headway at a pace nobody can touch.

“That’s all good and fine,” you say. “Tell me something I don’t know, something I can use – like how to infuse a team with passion. And tell me how in the world this all relates to deafness and hearing loss in the workplace.” Tune in to my next and we’ll dig in to the nuts and bolts of organizational passion, one of the tools you can use to infuse your workplace with it, and some thoughts on how to use that tool.

Todd D. Wakefield is CEO of NexTalk, Inc. ( http://www.nextalk.com ). He lives in Park City, Utah with his wife of 20 years and four kids.