Get real in recession if you want to survive and thrive

Your recession experience: easy or hard?

In my opinion, how this recession treats you depends on how real you get about your situation. Get real by taking appropriate actions and you and those you love will likely have the best experience possible. Put your head in the sand and I wish you good luck.

In a recession, everyone is on commission

In a recession, everyone is on commission, even if they don’t realize it. A company will — and has to — let anyone go who does not pull his or her own weight. Some do this sooner than others. Those companies who don’t, often put themselves at greater risk of failing.

A tale of two reactions

In the early 1990’s, Japan, Finland and Sweden all rapidly spiraled into deep recession. The leaders in Finland and Sweden looked squarely at the situation and took action. Their recession was short but intense. Finland and Sweden returned to stability within a year or two, and have been steady since.

The high cost of saving face vs. action

Japan preferred to save face and did not recognize the core issue. They did not take the painful, but appropriate, actions. Their recession kept growth near zero for more than a decade.

The path through the recession is available

You’re my reader, so I want you to survive and thrive through this recession. The recipe for doing this is no secret. In its simplest form, the recipe is simply to see your gaps and take action, starting now.

Getting what you want

When you bake a cake or a loaf of bread, you won’t likely get what you intended if you leave out an ingredient. The same is true in sales and marketing. Do you know the complete recipe?
Many have not needed a recipe in the past.

Those days could be over

The tough part is that, for many, the last decade has been so easy that many could achieve their definitions of success without following the recipe. Unlike other recessions, this one is likely the end of being able to “wing it” to success in business. I might be wrong, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

What to do?

I suspect you already know some, or all, of the changes you could make to improve your odds of short- and long-term success. If you see opportunities, please consider taking calm and deliberate action today, to shore up your situation. If you don’t see your opportunities as clearly as you would like, read on.

For tried-and-true clarity you can go here instantly, for perspective

If your gaps are not as clear as you would like, and you want a good score card to quickly see and prioritize your improvement opportunities, you can download my no-cost scorecard here.

Are you Japan? Or Finland and Sweden?

Japan insured a decade of pain by not dealing with reality as early as possible. Finland and Sweden got real and got healthy in months, instead of years and decades. The choice is yours.

To your success,

Eric