Navigating through the Storms

A Downturn is a Terrible Opportunity To Waste

Think a recession is a bad time to start a company or selling will be tough?

Sure, it will be, however there is always business to be done. It is a fact that people have made fortunes during the depression! Imagine if the founders of these major corporations had thought the same. There would not have been household names like Proctor & Gamble, IBM and Fedex to name a few. Though bracing for a rough year ahead in 2009, General Electric and General Motors are nonetheless, century- old brandnames! There are plenty of other things you can and should be doing during a downturn to make the best out it.

In 2008, we saw Lehman Brothers, a 158 year-old investment bank, go belly up in a matter of days. American International Group (AIG), the world’s largest insurance company, was tethering on the brink of bankruptcy. Like it or not, the global landscape has changed. Through it all, one of the things I've noticed about change is, whether you embrace it or run from it; go with it, lead into it, or get dragged into it kicking and screaming, it's going to happen anyhow, with you or without you. You see, what I've found out is: Change is the only constant. No matter how you react to it, and whether you like it or not, it doesn't matter: it's going to happen with you or without you.

Adaptability, in our new environment, is your key to success. To succeed in our ever- changing environment, you not only have to anticipate change, plan for change, but also plan for milking the most out of it. Have you start making plans in this changing environment where companies fold-up even faster than you can say its name? Do you have your personal plan for how you will succeed in this changing landscape and what you want to get out of it? Does your company have a plan for any changing environment and they know what they want to get out of it?

The other lesson I learned about change is: Leading through change. Don't be afraid to be the first one through. Too many people are only too happy to let others take them through change, or life, for that matter. But when you give up control like that, it's going to be hard to reap the benefits.

So plan for change with an eye towards what you want out of it and lead through change. Don't be afraid to meet it head on. Because whether you like it or not; whether you embrace it or run from it; whether you lead into it, get pushed, pulled or dragged into it kicking and screaming, it doesn't matter. It's going to happen anyhow; with you or without you. Nothing stays the same, change is the only constant.