Dave Ciambella

Opportunity Is Knocking…Are You Answering The Door?
October 29, 2008

Without question, the current state of the economy is at the forefront of everyone’s mind. Individuals are concerned about job security, protecting their families and declining values in their retirement accounts. Business owners are working diligently to trim the fat (i.e., reduce expenses), manage cash flow more effectively and, in some cases, are simply fighting for survival. So, what can or should you be doing during turbulent times such as these?

I have had the opportunity to work with an impressive cross section of business owners over the years, many of whom have weathered local, national and international economic storms. Here is a summary of reactions and current thinking that you may find helpful as you weather the economic storm presently swirling all around us:

• Upgrade Personnel - Many talent-rich businesses have closed their doors or have significantly contracted during economic downturns: today’s rough times are no exception. There are talented people presently unemployed who could be a great addition to your team. Are you capitalizing by recruiting available, proven, culturally compatible individuals to upgrade your team?
• Plan For The Future - During favorable economic times, businesses can be so consumed with managing growth or enjoying profitability that they fail to step back and plan for the next 1, 3 and 5 years. My experience has been that, during bad times, many owners would rather have a root canal than invest money to plan for the future of their businesses. From my perspective, the best time to engage in strategic planning is during the good times. However, during economic downturns, the timing may be ideal, since the pace of your business is not as frenetic, thereby allowing you to actually slow down long enough to think about the future of your business. When was the last time you took the time to work “on” your business versus just “in” your business?

When times are good, it is easy for us to sit back and coast. Often, we forget to practice the fundamentals or we choose to discontinue the basic “blocking and tackling” that helped us achieve success in the first place. Have you allowed complacency to creep into your life and your business? Economic times such as these can be frightening and even paralyzing for some individuals while others see only opportunities. Our emotions and attitude play significant roles on how well we deal with the adversity associated with recessionary periods.

Posted by Dave Ciambella on October 29, 2008 | Comments (0)