Business As Usual in this Recession?

I certainly hope that there are not many managers or business owners thinking "business as usual." In my regular forays into the market to assess changing conditions so I can better advise my clients on strategies, I see all manner of companies reacting to the downturn. That is the good news.

The bad news is that most are scaling back business as usual...but still doing business as usual.

The winners in this extended downturn will be those companies that completely rethink their business. Completely!!

Take the retail industry as one example (I have written about this industry in an earlier post on the impact of the recession on retailing). Retailers are scrambling to cut, cut, cut. But, what I am not seeing as much of is the complete rethinking of business models. Store locations, store size, store inventory levels and a host of other strategic issues need to be rethought. And quickly! Then there needs to be detailed planning as to how one transitions from today's model to the model of tomorrow. Quickly!

Business as usual, scaled back, is not what the winners will be doing.

Not at the business level or at the individual level.

Is your business or your employer changing to reflect the changing times that show every sign of being with us for an extended period? If not, what are you doing to get the powers-to-be to see the light?

These are truly times of wonderful opportunity for those with the vision to see things as they need to be in a changed world, the courage and skill to get constituencies to the right place, and the determination to make change happen. Quickly! But, thoughtfully!!