Hunkering Down and Competing

There's lot's of soul searching going on right now as businesses hunker down to make it through the downturn. Most CEO's seem to be coming to grips with the notion that a turn-around isn't imminent and more, stronger action is likely necessary in order survive/thrive.

If survival is the priority then cash flow and cost containment are imperatives.

Cash flow starts with getting receivables in fast and payables out carefully. For many that surely seems like a no-brainer. However, experience suggests many CEO's would be well-advised to sit down with their CFO's and make sure everyone is on the same page - that there is a daily effort to collect - and a clear, formal strategy around who, what and how fast to pay.

Cost containment starts with strategy. What are the operating priorities in the downturn (marketing? sales? people?) and how will those priorities be protected? From there, managers can identify spending that isn't currently consistent with the operating priorities and cuts can be made.

My observation on cost containment is that it's seldom done well. Frequently, strategy is lacking and some cuts hurt more than they help. Cuts that could be made but aren't hurt the most. Obvious misses send the wrong message on priorities. Finding and implementing process efficiency gains can sometimes have big upfront costs. Careful analysis is required if this is the case to understand the financial benefits and cash flow implications.

Lots has been written about the extended downside of laying off people to save money. I get it. To a point. Lay-offs aren't free and it would seem the cultural, expertise and overall disruptions to the business could be both significant and lingering.

In actual fact, I've seen few companies suffer extensively from downsizing. Creating fat and straying into luxuries is wide-spread in good times. Being forced to refocus on core priorities, businesses, people and customers isn't necessarily a bad thing. Laying off the wrong people and cutting into muscle is a mistake so knee-jerking into a lay-off strategy is dangerous. But a thoughtful, proactive and strategic approach is a good thing for lots of businesses.

Lots of companies are struggling to maintain sales momentum through this downturn. Decision and spending paralysis is widespread right now. With fierce competition for every deal, CEO's are getting a great opportunity to understand the true competitiveness of their organizations. How's your organization batting on competitive deals? .100? .250? .500? When this is over, will your organization have lost or gained market share?

I worry that many organizations will see an upturn in the economy before they fix the lessons from this downturn. High tides float all boats and survival for many will feel like success. Short term it is. But CEO's who merely hang on risk jeopardizing their businesses longer term. Question: what have you learned about your organization's ability to compete in this downturn and what do you need to do about it? Changes that increase success now will have significantly more impact when things turn. Is your organization just hanging on or are you taking advantage of the current situation to implement good long term changes?

Check out this YouTube video for more thoughts on managing through a downturn and succeeding long term.

Dude, step away from the office

These are stressful times.

Today my broker called. He's been terrific through the market melt-down - keeping me informed, getting advice, sharing insight. I feel well looked after and frankly, lucky he's my broker.

What's happening in the market hasn't been easy for him. What we're going through now is unique, once-in-a-lifetime type stuff. He's seen a lot. He hasn't seen this.

The other day he was telling me how he was so pre-occupied, he only shaved half his face (unfortunately, as goofy as that sounds I actually had a better story - I showered and only dried my hair! - we had a good laugh). I feel for him.

Today he called to share his thoughts on the lessons learned from what we've just been through and how to protect for it in the future. He had an excellent plan.

You know, I appreciate it.

If more businesses would learn from the difficult experiences they go through, they'd stop going through so many difficult experiences. However, today I had a different thought for him.

"You're on the wrong track."

I know what's happening because I'm seeing it everywhere. Faced with adversity, uncertainty, fear...and frankly in some businesses, too much downtime.....people like my broker are working themselves into a frenzy. They're working overtime to come up with solutions to save the world, fix the past and cure cancer. All in one fell swoop.

You know what...he doesn't need to. It's the wrong thing to do. Knee-jerking and over-reacting into crazy but well-meaning directions is exactly how to compound the mess that's already out there.

This just doesn't apply to my broker. I know a business owner making the corporate version of the same mistake. He's like a crazed pyro-maniac lighting new fires everywhere he goes. Unfortunately, there won't be much left standing if he keeps it up.

So, here's the direction I gave my broker: your job is to maximize the return on my investment. There is RAW POTENTIAL to do that everywhere I look right now. At least in my lifetime THERE WILL NEVER BE A BETTER TIME to invest in great companies at huge discounts. Don't worry about inventing a better way to protect me so the next time this happens I don't get killed. I'll be dead anyways. GO AND MAKE ME RICH. Stop over-thinking this.

And for the business owner: man, you MUST get a plan - and stick to it. No, the economy isn't great and sales will slow down. But your product needs some attention. Now you're going to have some time to work on it. You're not going to execute any of that other stuff anyways. Blow this opportunity, AND YOU WILL BE OUT OF BUSINESS.

So, bottom line.... yes, there's stress and in many cases fear. But working long hours and coming up with new, crazy directions (working dumb) isn't the answer. The answer is probably something pretty basic. Something fundamental. And once you've figured it out....get out of the office...before you break something!