Focus on Survival
You see it and feel it out there. It was panic for a few years. Many organizations, particularly small business, watched the numbers on the economic recovery and bought into the doom and gloom of quasi-authoritative prognosticators. They decided that “yes, Chicken Little, the sky really IS falling!”
Panic.
A 2010 monthly report from the National Federation of Independent Business reported that businesses were panicking. Severe cutbacks. Layoffs, even laying off productive people, simply because we have to spend less. Not spending money on things necessary to thrive. I am always reminded of that line from the movie Ghost Busters:
“Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together… mass hysteria!”
But never to fear, things are getting better. According to the latest report, businesses have advanced from panic to simply negativity. In other words, no longer doom and gloom, just the gloom. Business owners and managers still don’t feel very good about the economy. The result is
- Only a VERY SMALL PERCENTAGE of businesses are adding employees this year.
- Very few project adding employees
- Very few think sales will go up
- Most don’t expect the economy to improve.
Side Note: that’s not reality based. According to Economic Expert Sean Snaith of the UCF Institute for Economic Competitiveness, while economic recovery is happening, even though it will be slower than what we have experienced in the past. And things will be looking up starting as early as the second half of 2013.
Surviving and Not Thriving
How are businesses reacting to all this? By staying in survival mode. Focus on nothing but keeping themselves afloat. Bare bones.
Big Mistake!
There certainly is something to be said for survival. It’s the first order of business. If you don’t survive the now, there’s not much to look forward to in the future.
The problem with only being in survival mode, however, is that it practically guarantees you will not make it past the short-term. As things gradually get better (and they will!), new opportunities for businesses of all kinds will emerge. Opportunities that will require quick action and quick results. Opportunities that will require businesses that are agile and equipped to move on those opportunities.
In other words, businesses that are PREPARED! You must be ready not just with the right equipment and supplies, but with the right people. You need effective leadership, not just management. You need effective teams who have been developed to be productive and work together. If leadership is not prepared to see and exploit opportunities, they will pass you by. If your teams have not already been developed past the initial phases of team formation and are ready to hit the ground performing, you will not produce results on time and opportunities will be lost.
Do more than survive
Your organizations prosperity more than anything else depends on your PREPARED LEADERSHIP and EFFECTIVE TEAMS.
If you don’t position yourself this way, you have a reason to be gloomy!
What actions are you going to take today to prepare yourself and your organization? Share in the comments.