New Hope

Today's inauguration of Barack Obama is uplifting the spirits of America, as can easily be seen by the record crowds braving the cold in Washington, DC and people everywhere glued to their TV sets to watch the happenings in our nation's capital. And, that is a great thing for our country needs a healthy dose of cheer after so many months of sour economic news.

The challenges before our new President are immense and he will need the help of all Americans to restore this country to its full greatness. As well said today by the lead editorial in USA Today;

"Obama takes oath amid great pride, promise, problems"

I am encouraged that, at every turn, the President is communicating that the turnaround will not be quick, and will not be easy. The sooner everyone absorbs this message, the sooner recovery will begin to start to take hold. The sooner people assume personal responsibility for their prosperity, the sooner our country will prosper.

This is a wonderful day to feel a new sense of hope. But, let no one forget that hope without action is not a cure.

What will you be doing differently, tomorrow, when the images of the inaugural splendor start to disappear in the rear view mirror?

Benefits of Recession

One of the many things for which I am perpetually grateful is the wonderful mentors that surround me. The wisdom of my mentors keeps my own thinking on track, no matter what else is going on around me.

Yesterday was a double treat in that I spent time with two of my mentors. In the afternoon, I had the pleasure of meeting with Mark DiSalvo, CEO of Semaphore and one of the smartest entrepreneurs that I know. (Sempahore is a Boston based consulting firm that advises clients on value creation in distressed VC funds and in portfolio companies.)

Friday evening, I was with another of my mentors: the fabulous Cheryl Richardson. Cheryl spoke at the launch event for her new book, The Art of Extreme Self Care. I love her new book as explained in an earlier post.

I was struck by the fact that both Mark and Cheryl articulated their hope (and expectation) that the current economic malaise is likely to produce societal changes that will be among the benefits of the recession. I am seeing the early signs of the same thing.

As just one of a number of examples which I could site, it appears that families are going to be forced to pull together to deal with the hardships emanating from the economic woes. That is a good thing!

Now, I am not a blind optimist! I am expecting divorce rates to climb as partners forced to start their wealth building anew will decide that they want to start with a new partner. That will be tearing some families apart. But, at the same time, I expect that more and more people will realize that the best cure for their woes is to not expect a Washington personal bailout, but instead to take personal responsibility for making good things happen. As they take such responsibility, I fully expect them to look to their family structure for all manner of support.

Let me be very clear. Long term societal benefits don't pay one's mortgage, or put food on the table. I got it! My point is solely that I expect a lot of good to come out of the recession. Your challenge...and mine...is to adjust our sails to take advantage of the winds of changes that are unfolding so as to prosper in the tough times immediately before us.

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!!

Building a Network BEFORE You Need One

I haven't done a survey on the subject (or read one done by anyone else), but my experience is that the vast majority of people pay little heed to their network until they need one.

Like I expect you are, I am getting an increased number of contacts from people I worked with years ago and haven't heard from since then. Now because I believe that those of who are employed need to try to do what we can to help those who are not, I respond to these contacts. But expecting people who you haven't talked to in 20+ years to do wonders for you is far from an ideal situation.

Having an effective network is like having money in a bank. You need to put "currency" in your network bank in the good times so that you have "currency" to withdraw in the tough times. The currency of networking is the good deeds you have done for others.

One of my mentors, the wonderful Zig Ziglar, taught me many years ago that:

You can get whatever you want in life, if you will help enough others get what they want.

Want to have support if you lose your job, or your business fails, then make your deposits starting TODAY! Give and you will be in a position to get.

It is never too late to start saving, and it is never too late to start giving.

In the last week, what have you done for contacts outside your immediate family to help them deal with these tough times?