In a few short weeks, we have entered a crisis unlike anything most of us have ever seen. A crisis where any pre-existing course of action has to be put on hold or reset. A crisis that can naturally lead anyone to feel frustrated, annoyed, overwhelmed, afraid, concerned about themselves and others, and unsure of what to do.

As former CEO of Best Buy, and prior to that Carlson, I’ve had the opportunity to directly speak with a number of CEOs and senior executives navigating the uncertainty, and I’ve watched closely the actions and decisions of many companies in the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

All of them are trying to deal with a crisis in which every day brings new challenges, new decisions to make: Should you keep your stores, your manufacturing plants, your offices open? How long should you — or can you — continue to pay your employees?

The key question CEOs and companies are dealing with is how to lead in this environment. While the situation is somewhat reminiscent of the challenges we all faced during the Great Recession — I became CEO of Best Buy in 2012 when the company was supposed to go under — there is no obvious blueprint to follow. But perhaps, the same principles of purposeful, human leadership — such as putting people and customers first, treating profit as an outcome rather than the goal — that we used then can be applied now.

Less than a year ago, in August 2019, many leaders, including my successor at Best Buy, Corie Barry, signed the Business Roundtable Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation. In it, 181 CEOs committed to lead their companies for the benefit of all stakeholders — customers, employees, suppliers, communities, and shareholders. It was a response to what was happening to capitalism and its effects on society.

Today, that commitment is being put to the test. Right now, purpose matters most. Will the leaders take actions to show their words from last summer are real?

I have found the leaders that I have spoken with to be incredibly purpose-driven, with a clear human focus. They see that this crisis is a key leadership moment for them to help others. They are all spending time with their teams and working together to do the right thing. They understand, to put it in Churchillian terms, that this has the potential to be their “finest hour,” and they want to rise to the occasion. In all cases, I have been struck by their humanity.

These are, of course, incredibly challenging times. Still, we have seen in the last few days great examples of leaders working hard to try and take actions to do the right thing, illustrating the belief that business can be a force for good during this crisis.

It started with clear, consistent, and transparent communication with workers about restricting business travel, encouraging and facilitating working from home, and cancelling events: This is what we’re doing. This is why we’re doing it. Offering paid time-off for sick employees or for employees with children affected by school closures is also becoming more common, though I hope even more CEOs — and the country — begin looking critically at paid sick time as a core benefit, so workers don’t feel compelled to work when they feel sick. Best Buy is leveraging a backup child care service it introduced last year, providing access to affordable in-home or in-center child care for those who suddenly need it, and where it’s allowed. It’s also providing mental health support to assist employees dealing with anxiety and other issues this pandemic has unleashed.

The pandemic will undeniably hurt the bottom line of most companies, so many are thinking about ways to begin conserving cash. The natural tendency may be to start laying off people. I can’t stress enough that this may be shortsighted. When I was CEO of Carlson Wagonlit Travel, our German business was hit hard by the Great Recession. The corporate travel business relies on sophisticated agents able to optimize multi-leg travel arrangements and byzantine airline pricing, and on those agents’ relationships with the travelers they serve. The recession weighed heavily on travel, and therefore on the demand for Carlson Wagonlit’s services. Layoffs were the solution in many places, but in Germany, thanks to local labor laws, the management team decided to reduce working hours, so everyone could keep their jobs. They had no idea how long it would take for the market to recover, but they knew that keeping people was a priority. And when the market did recover, they were ready and didn’t suffer a talent drain.

The pandemic is terrible, but it is temporary by nature. I’ve spoken with leaders who recognize this and who are beginning to explore temporary pay cuts, reducing hours or furloughing their employees, rather than laying them off. I hope more leaders try to adopt this.