Adventures in Leardership

The following article was written in 2001 after 9/11.  I updated some wording to reflect this last economic disaster but I was amazed how pertinent and meaningful the message is for surviving this latest economic disaster.

Déjà vu All Over Again

The events of September 11 underscored the globalization that has occurred in the world. The enemy strikes when we least expect it and then retreats, invisible until the next strike.

Many businesses are faced with the same globalization effects in the Great Recession of 2009 . Retailers, manufacturers, construction moguls, Wall Street Wonks and professionals operated  businesses assuming that they were insulated from the effects of what happens elsewhere in the world and their business success would go on forever. Then comes the sudden attack when the world turns upside down. You feel victimized and vulnerable because everything you built is now threatened and none of it was your fault.

The United States and the world essentially shut down while we stabilized the situation, recovered from the disaster and developed a new strategy going forward. You need to take a similar approach as the economy enters recession, people lose jobs and spendable income ends up in savings accounts instead of new goods or  services. It will not be business as usual which means that you need to:

§  Stabilize the situation: Work with existing customers to assure they are committed to your business.  Customers you counted on before are reassessing their own situation.

§  Recover from the disaster:  Develop SWAT teams to find new ways to generate sales and reduce expenses. Even though the disaster was not your fault, don’t sit back assuming YOUR recovery is not within your control!

§  Develop a new Strategy: Reassess your markets, products, people and growth. Develop new objectives and direction for the company if that is required. Down size if necessary. Diversify if warranted. Study the situation and figure out how the environment has changed and refocus efforts, energy and assets to achieve greater success.

Sometimes survival is the first step to success but survival is never an end in itself. This country learned a lot in the hours and days after the attacks. Those lessons need to be understood in our personal lives for our security and in our business lives for our well being. We are in control if we take control. We have learned about teamwork, commitment and unity. The organization is going to change if it is to survive. Don’t act like a victim. Our future lies in our resolve, resilience and productivity.

“Sometimes I get the feeling the whole world is against me, but deep down I know that can’t be true. Some of the smaller countries are neutral.”     Robert Orben

When a company is open to change and accepts the help that is available to it, a picture of disaster can become quite different. The first step is to identify the underlying problems and develop solutions and actions plans to correct the problems. A strategy is developed for operations and cash management and it is made clear to everyone in the company. Many times actions are taken to make the company more lean and competitive before outsiders force the moves. Things change quickly!! All old habits and procedures are questioned and leaders emerge. When there is direction and planning, creditors, vendors and banks tend to have more faith in the future of the company. The key to the successful management of a crisis is that an outside influence is needed. No one inside the company can have comparable perspective, independence and emotional detachment to see the path to success clearly.