What are you going to do in the next down turn?
Economic signals are telling us that the worse is over and we are pulling out of the recession. Before we forget the pain, I’m curious if there was any lessons learned that we’ll take with us as the economy starts to prosper?
Make those critical connections – Get to know the people now that can help you later, while you both have time. Networking is such a key to business growth and development, that if there is one gift this economy has given us, its a chance to meet people that we otherwise would have missed. Use this time to your advantage. Try volunteering, not only is it rewarding, its a great way to meet folks with likeminded ideas.
Listen to counter-wisdom – Sometimes those contrarians get it right. Don’t get sucked in to following the opinions of only the people you “like”. Make a concerted effort to seek out alternative ideas and appreciate or at least understand the logic behind their proclamations.
Take advantage of training opportunities - If you have time and can afford it, training can only improve your position.
Try something new – along those lines, take a leap and try something you’ve been curious about. I’ve seen a lot of folks testing the water with social media, specifically with Twitter – this may be a great tool for your business. If you’ve never done it, sign up and get an account. You can connect to me if you like. My Twitter name is @SagaciousThink.
Don’t go soft on evaluations – The next time there’s a down turn, what sort of team do you want with you? – the one that all got good ratings because that was the path of least resistance, or a solid team that you know is capable of doing a job – you have clearly defined their strengths and weaknesses. The team that knows and works to your objects and meets their goals.
Develop/refine risk management plan - Chances are that some of the approaches you took to deal with the downturn, in hindsight were not the best. Now is a great time to take stock of your risk and issue management and determine where improvements can be made, so that when the next crisis strikes, you are better prepared. For example, now would be a great time to develop/refine your plan for dealing with H1N1.
What are you going to do differently based on surviving this downturn?
