As the 2008 ticked over the world held its breath as oil topped US$140 per barrel, Gold went over US$1,000 per ounce – the sky was the limit. And then the Global Financial Crisis took hold and the world suddenly seemed like a black hole of financial wealth. Value was not just being transferred, it appeared to be lost, something was wrong. Managers of companies didn’t know what to do, there were very few old heads in companies that had been managing at the top when the last down turn had happened. No one, no matter what they will tell you could have predicted what was coming, perhaps they timed their apocalyptic views well but they didn’t mean it. So the only thing that is true is whether or not you are prepared or can now be prepared for whatever lies down the road ahead for your business.

The real question is then how can you be prepared for what lies ahead for your business. I have compiled these thoughts on the basis of experience with my clients.

1. Changing Tempo

Dealing with a quick transition is never easy. The rate with which the world has changed in the past 12 months has been phenomenal. The current environment calls for decisive actions which can only be performed by leaders with a clear understanding of their business and a willingness to make tough decisions.

What is difficult to deal with in a downturn? The first is that everyone’s job is on the line. Although no one is willing to admit it people are undeniably selfish. There will be an overwhelming desire within your organisation for people to work ‘hard’ but also ‘look good’. These two are not synonymous in fact people trying to cover their backsides constantly results in a very ineffective work place overall.

Thekey will be to maintain the intensity of your workforce and help each and every employee to stay focused on running the business rather than running for cover. Prioritising will be a real key in this area, and you will have to ensure that you are in constant contact with all your managers to make sure that they are working on what is crucial and not necessarily what they think will give them and their team the most brownie points from yourself or the board.

People think that in a downturn it is better to shirk responsibility and do a few things fantastically instead of doing a lot of thinks quite well. That may be the case for the people in ‘the trenches’ but as a leader in your business that should not be the case for you. Always remember Theodore Roosevelt as he spoke in April, 1910 about “Man in the Arena” something which I liken to the manager in the arena of business:


“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

- Theodore Roosevelt “The Man in the Arena’ – April 23, 1910


We need to take on more. We cannot constantly site back avoiding engaging with our clients and suppliers in the arena of business. But most of all as decisive leaders in the face of great opposition you need to have the courage to seize an opportunity despite the turbulent times and economic conditions surrounding your business.

2. The little battler wins

Think about your clients. They are in a downturn. They use your services or buy your products but ultimately they are tightening their belts, they’re just as worried as you are, in fact if they are closer to the retail end of things they are probably the most worried about the current economic uncertainty.

Everyone likes barracking for the underdog.  That person who never gives up and always tries their hardest with the potential to come back from the brink and win against all the odds. These heroes are present not just in the sporting arena, they are quietly toiling every day in the office trying to make the business work, to persevere against the forces created by the downturn that attempt to close a business.

It’s times like these that need leaders who can provide surety to their clients and drive the expectation amongst each and every member of staff that they need to increase if anything their tenacity during the down time. The refuse-to-lose attitude is something needs to be shown from the top down.

The greatest accomplishments across the face of the planet from the Great Pyramids to the Empire State Building, to the Great Wall of China were not created in the vision of a group of individuals who paused when the going got tough paused to take a breath and reassess whether or not they should be doing it. The leaders in these projects never lost sight of the end goal, that goal of succeeding and completing what was started many years before. This tenacity of leadership this unwillingness to accept anything less than perfection drove them to succeed.

In the current environment more than ever the marketplace for sales as well as capital is tighter than ever. It is up to us as leaders our businesses to provide that tenacity to each and every member of staff. To immerse ourselves in our business and then to decide wher ethe weak spots in our businesses are so that we can provide them with the fire in our bellies to keep them going during the toughest times.

3. Support your clients

Imagine you are your client. You are buying good and services, but the marketplace looks tough. Assume the worst, your client is close to the retail end of things which is really the pointy end in a downturn. Their forward books right about now are looking quite week. Even with the ‘Green shoots’ that we are being told are emerging the various governments globally have said that the next 12 – 18 months are extremely tough.

Now imagine that with some reassurance and some client support with regards to either financing terms, temporary price lowering, inventory factoring or any means of supporting your clients through the toughest times they will continue you order from you and in fact they will remember you when the going gets good again. The values of quality and integrity are rarely seen these days in business but when they are forged by objectivity when looking at a client and deciding is this a client we want to support, then you will build a relationship with them that will last the lifetime of your business.

Businesses are the coach of the their clients. The coach knows what’s going on on the pitch and how their clients are performing and whether they need encouragement or some strategy change. Whether it’s obvious or not your clients will turn and look to you when times are tough. From your calm objective vantage point you can provide an advantage that no internal staff can.

In the end, businesses are not nameless and faceless organisations. They are built around people. If your individuals can help your clients individuals then with that commitment regardless of market conditions the bonds between your company and your client will remain strong for generations

4. Be confident and exude it

For those of you who have looked for the rush in bungy jumping or sky diving you will have experienced that moment of panic when you go to jump for the first time, in fact probably every time. No doubt even the instructors still have their fears to a certain extent. Yet when you look over at them, do you see them panicking openly? No usually they smile, maybe scream with excitement at the thrill and give you a thumbs up. And what does this do? It normally gees you up right, you feel empowered, ready to leap yourself.

So what’s the lesson, other than if you are crazy enough to do these things have a good instructor? Well that’s it really. If you are confident in business in the face of a recession and you exude this confidence to your customers / clients you are going to have a much easier time of convincing them to maintain their business with you. People feel vulnerable during these times and they need to thumbs up of their partners in business to convince them to take the leap.

And just like the instructor, that’s not to say that you won’t secretly be thinking the same thing the instructors do, and have those little fears and doubts yourself, just don’t show them outwardly. This is not always easy, particularly given the stress on your business and the drain on your time and emotion that it can be at present. But this strength is one of the hallmarks of a strong recession-capable leader.

In tough times all eyes will turn to you and your business to take their cues from you, so stay the course.

5. Shoot straight

Truth and trust go hand in hand. There is no doubt that during the difficult times you will be more tempted to ‘bend the truth’ but you need to be aware that you face serious consequences of doing so, and not only legal in some cases, but in terms of long term business potential.

In a financial crisis such as the one that we have just seen you face the real problem of communicating effectively. Emotions run high, people are getting fired left right and centre and people are ‘too busy’ to see you because they’d rather hide in their office than talk to someone higher than themselves, who might fire them.

How can this phobia be solved? Shoot straight and speak in person. Do not underestimate how much more powerful meeting someone in person can be than trying to solve problems or confront someone over the phone or by email. Maintain an open door policy where anyone and everyone can come and see you when they want (obviously within reason), so that people understand that you are not trying to shut them out, you are trying to let them in to confront problems head on.

People do not always want to hear what you have to say, because let’s face it the truth can and often does hurt. But after the initial emotions that might include the good or the bad such as elation or anger, people respect the honesty and candour of such conduct, both internal and external people alike.

There’s no end of spin and hype in the business world these days, particularly in the very best and now the very worst of times, so shoot straight and you’ll minimise the trouble you can get into.

6. You need more than cost cutting

Cost cutting is nothing without revenue. If you have a business that has its cost minimised but as a result can’t generate any revenue, then what’s the point?

To get out of a recession we have to grow out of it, not just skirt around the sides and hope that someone else will fix the problems that are currently plaguing the economies of the world. Does that mean spend spend spend? Ofcourse not, rationalising expenses and wringing value out of every dollar during a downturn is an important activity, but it can’t be the only one. If you only cost cut you send the signal that you don’t want new market share, just to hold your current position.

Getting your future growth planned and starting to execute it during the down periods whilst really tough to get started on can often be the most potent. Companies and people have a strong herd mentality, when they see another company or person on the up and up they tend to want to follow and be involved. If you can impart this feeling to your clients they are going to want to increase their business and involvement with you because they will start to feel the growth by association factor.

Striking the balance therefore between cost cutting to preserve what we have as well as growing our companies to shake off the doldrums is a fine balance. If you can motivate your people now though to change their mindset and get out there, you will win the future battles in your business and your industry.

7. Re-evaluate and change your direction

When you aren’t getting anywhere when hiking what do you do? Do you keep ploughing along as you might have been for the previous few hours or do you sit down with the map, compass and try to work out what’s going wrong and then try again? Many people mistakenly believe that dogged adherence to the plan and the advent of perseverence will get you through the toughest times. It may, in fact sometimes that does happen, but for my mind that’s an affirmation of the plan more so than it is the perseverence.

Those companies that seek to go ahead with a vision that incorporates the current tough market conditions will reap the rewards ahead of those that tend to try to play it safe and not sail their boat out of the harbour into the choppier waters. The reality is that nothing in business is perfectly safe, anyone who tries to tell you otherwise is either lying or ignorant.

So once you’ve sat down and relaxed for a moment, take stock of where you are on the map. What has gone wrong? what has gone right? What’s the new heading to take? With a confident action plan in place, even if it is the same plan as before with only minor modifications you will provide the confidence I’ve spoken about before in this article that you can impart. This will be a direct result of your recessin specific direction for your business.

A focus on service, innovation, quality and a determination to stick to the plan and stay the course will allow your business to reach its goals and become stronger than your competitors in the process.

8. Cape Diem

Driving in the NASCAR can be extremely scary and daunting even at the best of times. But when the going gets tough and there’s a crash ahead of a driver, they cannot hesitate, often they are briefed very quickly by their driving team as to the line they should take and then they accelerate into the smoke at full pelt, without knowing exactly what awaits them. For the driver that can do this successfully those extra seconds without hesitation with complete trust in the team can mean an advantage over competitors and ultimately the race.

So what does this really translate into in business? Everyone has to be involved to make sure that your team and your business can seize the day, that no opportunity is left unturned and that in a downturn everyone shoulders the responsibility of making the decisions so that as your business puts the foot to the floor and heads into the smoke you take the right line on the track.

Giving people purpose and direction at your weekly or monthly team meetings improves morale and boosts their ego enough to seek out all opportunities and thrive. Knowing where everyone stands in the organisation means that management is not just a top down phenomenon, but something that all levels participate in and all levels feel like they have the right to have input and create a stronger business as a result. Cape diem!

9. Rest and recharge your batteries

   • Exercise more – get out there 30 minutes for 3 times a week. Doesn’t have to be anything more than walking but it will stimulate your mind trust me, I have started myself doing this every morning;
   • Go and see family. Once a week, go and see family, doesn’t have to be anything more than a coffee, lunch or a pop around to a house. You will feel better. This could also be spending more time with your kids, take them to the park for a run around or swings;
   • Make a deal with friends to catch up once a month for a beer at a particular place, or go fishing or do something, so that you keep in contact with non-work friends, it’s important to give yourself a break from thinking about your business all the time.

Take the opportunity that this down turn presents to rest and recharge. In the height of the market the amount of clients that I saw have diminishing involvement with their family, friends or exercise was phenomenal. People got rich, but they also got fat and lazy. Take the time now to get back into shape personally as well as in your business.

When you are healthy and recharged your impact on your business will be much more powerful and you will get through a lot more work that you do when you are tried, eating poorly and aren’t stimulating the social part of your brain.

Set yourself some personal goals with regards to this. From watching some of my clients already do it in 2009 I have seen a dramatic improvement in their business as a result. So what are some things that they’ve been doing that you could do? Here’s a few:

10. Prioritise prioritise prioritise

There is one key thing is that an organisation is bigger than any one person. It is important that each and every member of your staff understands that this does not mean that anyone and everyone should be cut if things are not going well, but rather than even in the toughest times people must be loyal and committed to your business if it is going to succeed.

As a leader in your business, you are the one person that most people will look to to provide the “truth north” of the business during the difficult periods. Think about all the most difficult periods financially and socially in the past century, they were also always seen to force people to do great things, whether it was Winston Churchill, Albert Einstein, John F. Kennedy, Neil Armstrong or Martin Luther King, these were the people who stand out by providing us with something enigmatic, some quality that is hard to define and yet obviously present. Can you learn this? Not completely but if you provide a clear vision of where you want the firm to g and you can articulate this not only in words but in actions yu will be well on your way.

The commitment that you must show to each and everyone of your people and in turn your organisation will ultimately make the difference. If you put the company’s interestes first then perhaps more than ever in difficult times, you will ensure the ongoing strength and vitality of your business.