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Economic Downturn An Opportunity in Disguise

Krishna Murty Yamajala
Monday, March 2, 2009
Krishna Murty Yamajala
Cycles of booms and busts are phenomena that have affected economic activity throughout the ages, albeit the scale and impact in the last fifty years has been tremendous. During this period, the world's economic activity has seen rapid growth due to a number of factors including rapid industrialization, technology advancement and convergence, increasing portfolio of service industries, and globalization among others. Periods of growth have seen increased business activity, high employment growth rates, and an overall improvement in the peoples' standards of living. On the other side, economic downturn and recession have resulted in contracted economic activity, high unemployment, and a sense of despair among the affected people.

For leaders and managers of organizations, managing during an economic downturn is full of challenges and obstacles, which consume time and energy. Tough economic times are filled with uncertainty that make a recession a horrible period compared to times of high economic growth. For most people it would appear like a zero sum game. However, for those with a creative mindset and ability to catch the bull by the horns, these times are fertile with opportunities. Many consider this an opportunity to focus on your core strengths, fresh thinking, creativity, and innovation. It is an opportunity to strengthen your talent programs, identify weaknesses, and reinvent your company to survive and grow.

For those with the ability and the will to survive, the uncertainties offer not only a chance to look within but also scan for external factors that would turn threats into opportunities.

Getting Your House in Order
Looking across the entire portfolio of activities, including processes, best practices, project management, and business metrics among others, managers will be able to see the amount of waste and inefficiency that the boom period has introduced into the system. Identifying such ineffective means of work will help in streamlining the organization’s as well as that of a team's processes to a more productive state. Simply ask questions that would be focused more inward and shed light on inefficient and unproductive means of working:
*What is the best way of doing this?
*Can we minimize time and effort by re-using processes or other practices?

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