Today marks exactly three years since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began—a day that forever changed millions of lives, including mine and my family’s. As I reflect on this somber anniversary, I find myself drawn not only to thoughts of what was lost, but also to the remarkable journey of rebuilding that followed.
Three years ago today, just six days after my final radiotherapy treatment for stage 4 cancer, I awakened to news that would trigger yet another life-altering crisis. The place we called home for years, where we had built our business and community, had suddenly become a war zone. Our home in Kyiv, our possessions, our pets (five dogs and nine cats we had rescued over the years), and the physical infrastructure of The Banking 50—all were suddenly unreachable behind the lines of a conflict we had no power to stop.
Having already relocated to the Netherlands for my cancer treatment, we found ourselves in the surreal position of being physically safe while watching our former life disintegrate from afar. The nightmare, it seemed, was only intensifying after the grueling battle with cancer that had nearly claimed my life.
The Turning Point
When facing multiple simultaneous crises, you discover what you’re truly made of. There’s a clarifying effect to having everything stripped away—you see with perfect clarity what matters and what doesn’t, what’s worth fighting for and what can be released.
For my wife and me, the answer was clear: we would rebuild. Not just recover, not just survive, but create something stronger than what existed before. With our existing business infrastructure suddenly inaccessible and our previous operational model made obsolete overnight, we faced a pivotal choice: retreat or transform.
We chose transformation.
What followed was perhaps the most challenging and ultimately rewarding professional journey of our lives. Drawing on our deep banking network in both Western and Eastern Europe, we reimagined The Banking 50 not as a locally-focused community but as a bridge between banking worlds. We created cross-border knowledge exchange programs that connected Western European expertise with Eastern European innovation potential.
The approach resonated powerfully. Banking executives from both regions recognized the unique value of this perspective, particularly as financial institutions across Europe faced their own transformational challenges. What had begun as a necessity born from crisis evolved into our greatest competitive advantage.
The Power of Authentic Resilience
Looking back over these three years, what strikes me most isn’t just that we survived both cancer and war—it’s how these crises transformed our approach in ways that ultimately created more value than our pre-crisis model ever could have.
This didn’t happen by accident. It happened because of specific principles that guided our response:
- We focused on what remained rather than what was lost
- We identified our unique strengths that survived regardless of circumstance
- We adapted our business model to leverage these strengths in new contexts
- We maintained authentic relationships even when everything else changed
- We viewed constraints as catalysts for innovation rather than limitations
These principles weren’t theoretical concepts but practical lifelines that enabled us not just to rebuild but to flourish in entirely new ways.
Today, The Banking 50 stands as Europe’s largest business community for banking and finance professionals—something I couldn’t have imagined three years ago as we watched the invasion unfold. Our community has grown beyond anything we had built before, not despite the crises we faced but in many ways because of how those crises forced us to reimagine what was possible.
From Experience to Expression
This morning, reflecting on the anniversary and all that has transpired, I made a decision. The lessons from this journey—not just the past three years, but my entire path from unconventional athlete to corporate leader to entrepreneur to crisis survivor—deserve to be shared more widely.
Today, I’m officially beginning work on my first book, “Win Your Way, Not Theirs,” which will trace these principles of authentic resilience and adaptive leadership through the various chapters of my life. From developing an unorthodox cricket technique that led to championship success in England, to adapting corporate methodologies across multiple financial institutions, to building and rebuilding The Banking 50 through unconventional approaches, to navigating life-threatening illness and war-driven displacement.
Throughout these diverse challenges, I’ve discovered a consistent thread: the most powerful results come from finding the balance between respecting valuable structures and adapting implementation to leverage authentic strengths. It’s about winning your way, not someone else’s.
This book isn’t just about my journey. It’s about providing a framework for anyone facing their own challenges—whether professional obstacles, organizational transformations, or life-altering crises. The principles that enabled our resilience and ultimate growth can be applied across contexts by anyone willing to approach challenges with authenticity and strategic adaptation.
Forward, Not Back
Three years after the invasion began, I still feel the weight of what was lost—our home, our possessions, the life we had built. Yet I also recognize that the path forward isn’t about reclaiming what was, but creating what could be.
This anniversary marks not just remembrance of disruption, but celebration of transformation. Not just acknowledgment of loss, but recognition of growth. Not just looking back, but moving forward with the wisdom that only comes through navigating life’s most challenging passages.
The book that begins today is my way of transforming these difficult experiences into something that might help others navigate their own challenges with greater resilience and authenticity. After all, isn’t that the ultimate form of meaning-making—to transform our hardships into insights that lighten the path for others?
For those interested in this journey, I’ll be sharing updates on the book’s progress in the coming months. “Win Your Way, Not Theirs” is scheduled for release in Summer 2025, marking what will then be three and a half years since that fateful February morning changed everything.
Sometimes the most powerful creations emerge from our greatest challenges. Today, I choose to honor this difficult anniversary by creating something new from all that it taught me.
Morten Kriek