To continue on the course of being open to changing strategy and creating a new strength and core business. Let's think for a little bit in more extreme terms, such as what to do with your business when the economy is in real trouble. When I used to pilot single engine airplanes, there was a constant awareness that the one engine that was keeping me airborne might fail, then what? If you were a passenger on that airplane you wouldn't wan't a positive thinking pilot just thinking happy thoughts, you would want a pilot that had already thought of what to do if the unthinkable happened. With any business there are times when the engine of your growth fails and you need to have a plan in advance of any trouble. And, if you look at the world economy and the financial system you don't have to look very far to see a few clouds on the horizon. Now, none of us know absolutely whether those clouds will turn into a real storm but we don't have to, our job is to make sure we have alternate routes for our businesses if it does.
If the banking system or our currency were in real trouble, (and it might be) most businesses haven't given any thought about what to do in that situation. Most businesses need to have a minimum of two strategies, one for growth and one for endurance. We are due for the recession that pretty dependably comes every 6-7 years. So, it may be that we are in a business that is recession proof but if we are not, we should think about what our strengths need to be in a recession. The new strengths we may need could be a different kind of selling, maybe to a different customer and maybe even a new or at least different line of products that do well when money is tight and banks are not lending. If you go a little further you could think about what you might do to endure a high inflation or more extreme circumstance. There was a study that produced the "Hyperinflation survival guide - Strategies for American businesses", (Written by Gerald Swanson) that researched the effects of Hyperinflation on businesses in South America. That might be a start, one key point from that study is that once inflation takes off only the flexible survive. For manufacturing, (as resources dry up) it may turn out that production is not the best use of capital. Some businesses survived by leaving their core business to speculate in commodities, so desperation can be the mother of invention. This may not happen but being willing to look at this kind of event and its effects on your business can be very helpful and can actually bring to light opportunities outside of your core business that you would not have seen without your new perspective. Remember that competitiveness is not about doing what you are good at, but being able to adapt and provide what customers value! Customers have different values in recessions vs growth economies.
If the banking system or our currency were in real trouble, (and it might be) most businesses haven't given any thought about what to do in that situation. Most businesses need to have a minimum of two strategies, one for growth and one for endurance. We are due for the recession that pretty dependably comes every 6-7 years. So, it may be that we are in a business that is recession proof but if we are not, we should think about what our strengths need to be in a recession. The new strengths we may need could be a different kind of selling, maybe to a different customer and maybe even a new or at least different line of products that do well when money is tight and banks are not lending. If you go a little further you could think about what you might do to endure a high inflation or more extreme circumstance. There was a study that produced the "Hyperinflation survival guide - Strategies for American businesses", (Written by Gerald Swanson) that researched the effects of Hyperinflation on businesses in South America. That might be a start, one key point from that study is that once inflation takes off only the flexible survive. For manufacturing, (as resources dry up) it may turn out that production is not the best use of capital. Some businesses survived by leaving their core business to speculate in commodities, so desperation can be the mother of invention. This may not happen but being willing to look at this kind of event and its effects on your business can be very helpful and can actually bring to light opportunities outside of your core business that you would not have seen without your new perspective. Remember that competitiveness is not about doing what you are good at, but being able to adapt and provide what customers value! Customers have different values in recessions vs growth economies.
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