Browsing around the HBR (Harvard Business Review) site, I found this article about how best to survive:
If the department and/or the company you work for is threatening to downsize: "A popular partner in the Brussels office of McKinsey & Company mentored hosts of junior consultants. When asked for advice on getting ahead, he always gave the same reply: “If you want to be a partner, start acting like one.” The corollary of this advice is even more important: during a recession, you have to start acting like a survivor if you hope to escape the axe."
[...] Keep your eye firmly on the eight ball, but act confident and cheerful. Research shows that being fun to be around really matters.
We may not be able to scale down all our personal spending (especially when in charge of a family); however, going for the ROI approach - that is, showing how much value you can create - is innovative and unusual and may land you at least a great project-based job.
One of the most important things either to keep your job or when looking for a new one, is being aware of your strengths.
A great article by McKinsey and Partner explains what leading in the downturn entails and how companies can survive through uncertainty.
Great flexibility (just-in-time decisions), collaboration at all levels to increase synergies and reduce costs of double spendings, and the awareness of worst case scenarios will help:
As problems with credit destroy and remake business models and market volatility whipsaws valuations, companies desperately need to understand how their revenues, costs, profits, cash flows, risks, and balance sheets will fare under different scenarios. With that information, executives can plan for the worst even as they hope for the best. If the recession lasted more than five years, for example, could the company survive? Is it prepared for the bankruptcy of major customers? Could it halve capital spending quickly? The answers should help companies to be better prepared and to recognize, as early as possible, which scenario is developing. That is critical knowledge in a crisis, when lead times disappear quickly and companies can seize the initiative only if they act before the entire world understands the probable outcome.
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The following four options give clues about what possible scenarios you need to take into account:
"With a social media resume, you’re able to paint a completely different portrait of yourself for hiring managers and customize it to reflect your personal brand. With the inclusion of various multimedia elements, sharing options, integrated social networking feeds and the same elements you’d find in a traditional resume, you are better equipped for success."
I recommend you have a look at the following posting for an update on the latest techniques to maximize your impact as an employee:
And do update your profile on the Social Networks which are most relevant to you: Xing, LinkedIn, Facebook, Ning, etc. Bill Liao, founder of Xing, says "connectedness is effectiveness". I think he is right. So get yourself out there and get connected!
This summit, which I attended in December, was just so inspiring: http://www.promisefortheworld.com. I gathered ideas and hope for the future.
One very short conversation I had really boosted me. I briefly talked to Bill Liao, an inspiring entrepreneur, co-founder of Xing (social network). The conversation was about the current financial crisis and the fact that we compare it to the Great Depression that followed the Black Monday in 1929.
Bill's view is that yes: the crisis is there yet, at the same time, there are so many opportunities around for learning and innovation, as well as technological resources that were not available originally, that we can all learn from it and, more than survive: actually thrive by finding creative ways to create value for us and the future of our children.
Thanks, Bill. As a result of this conversation, I decided to start this blog and spread this wonderful optimism.
It is always useful to have a look at what others say about how they see the future. In his book "Stumbling on Happiness", Daniel Gilbert explains that the best way to decide on detaching from your emotions in order to take the best decision is to ask the people around you what you should do. So here is one model that you may find useful: http://toptrends.nowandnext.com/?p=427.
Take a close look at the blue string (business). It will give you directions and a few clues and keys to work on.
(To have a bigger view of the picture, click on the picture with the right button of the mouse and then go to "View Image". I'm sorry, but this doesn't work in Internet Explorer.)
Downturn time may see extreme situations and you may have to make difficult decisions. You may wonder what the best way of communicating this is. I have found this presentation very useful and here is an excerpt:
1. Define the problem:
make sure you have reliable information and SMART communication objectives (Specific, Measurable, Ambitious, Realistic, Timed).
2. Gather the relevant information
(use all the sources available).
3. Centralize communications and create a Crisis Centre.
4. Communicate early and often.
5. Get inside the media's head (prepare information about Villains, Victims and Visuals - they love it!).
6. Communicate directly with affected constituencies (internal and external).
7. Keep the business running.
8. Make plans immediately to avoid the crisis happening again.
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As written in the book "The Black Swan" by Nassim Taleb, it is difficult to calculate the probability that an event seen as a crisis will happen; however, you need to think about the consequences of this event happening and prepare for the consequences. http://www.fooledbyrandomness.com/
There are three reasons why I decided to start this blog:
1. To help leaders to stay optimistic in spite of the difficult financial situation, to maintain morale and to lift the spirits of the people around them;
2. To support leaders in learning to maximize the resources that are readily available, screening what they have and making the best use of it;
3. To point out how we can create value now by embracing opportunities and building capabilities for the future.
Please come back soon. We will be adding interesting content for the Resilient Leader.
In the face of the downturn, I am gathering ideas in order to stay optimistic and strong. I will share regularly my findings: links, models, concepts and tools that will all help us to grow stronger.
