SPECIAL EDITION: When Everything Breaks Down, What Keeps A Business Going?

Twenty-five years after 9/11, the remarkable story of how The Wall Street Journal overcame the destruction of its main newsroom and published a Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper the very next day offers lessons that reach far beyond journalism. In this special edition of Monday Morning Radio, Maxwell Rotbart turns the microphone on his father and co-host, Dean Rotbart, author of the newly expanded September Twelfth: An American Comeback Story. Their conversation examines what business owners, executives, and entrepreneurs can learn from the Journal's extraordinary response to a crisis no contingency plan could have fully anticipated. Dean identifies four leadership principles that helped the newspaper keep functioning when its workplace was unusable, communications failed, and senior leaders were temporarily unreachable: clarity of purpose, consistent standards, trust and autonomy, and permission to take intelligent risks. Maxwell and Dean also explore why strong company culture must be built before a crisis strikes; how leaders can determine whether their organizations are too dependent on them; why employees need the authority to act without waiting for permission; and how humility can become a genuine competitive advantage. They also consider what the Journal's experience means in today's world of smartphones, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence — where technology continues to evolve, but human judgment remains indispensable. This episode offers a practical test for every leader: If you became unreachable tomorrow, would your people know what matters — and would they feel empowered to act? Monday Morning Radio, now in its 15th season, is hosted by the father-son duo of Dean and Maxwell Rotbart. Photos: Co-Hosts Dean and Maxwell Rotbart Posted: September 7, 2026 Monday Morning Run Time: 44:20 Episode: 708