BY MITCH MAC DONALD, GROUP EDITORIAL DIRECTOR outbound
five lessons learned
REJOICE! IT’S OVER. THE YEAR 2009 IS BEHIND US. YOU’D
be hard-pressed to find a business executive who isn’t thankful for
that. There were few safe harbors from the economic storm that
lashed the country last year—it seems every business, every
employee, every part of the U.S. economic machine felt its share of
the pain.
The good news is that 2010 appears to be starting off on a
brighter note. The word from independent market analysts,
As we look ahead to the new year, it’s a
good time to reflect on some of the lessons
learned during 2009 so we can avoid repeat-
ing these mistakes as our economy stabilizes.
First, don’t spend beyond your means. In
hindsight, we can all see what we should have
collectively known but ended up learning the
hard way. When it comes to managing a
business, your personal finances, or even a
government, overextending yourself is an
invitation to catastrophe. If you can’t afford
something, do without. Don’t borrow.
Second, keep the government out of the economy. Although the
causes of the economic meltdown remain open to debate (even
here amongst the editorial staffers at DC VELOCITY), it’s clear that
bad mortgages played a significant role. The politicians blame the
bankers for lax lending practices, while the bankers point the finger at politicians who eased lending standards back in the 1990s.
Whatever your view, it’s likely we can all agree on one thing: When
the government decides to step in and “fix” matters, things eventually, and invariably, go horribly wrong.
Third, while it may not always be easy to be green, it’s a mistake not
to try. Many companies used the economic downturn as an excuse
to halt, or at least back off from, their corporate green initiatives.
This is a mistake. The evidence on sustainability programs is in:
Green business practices reduce waste, and thus, reduce costs, and
thus, improve your bottom line. Commit now to making green a
priority for your operation in the new year.
Fourth, it is important to remain vigilant for
attempts at reregulation by a government that
ignores history. It’s common when times are
tough for ordinary citizens (and the governments that work for them) to overreact. The
unbridled stimulus spending that didn’t really
kick in until after the economy had started
recovering on its own is but the most obvious
example. Governments also have a
tendency to overreact when it
comes to regulating (or reregulating) industries. This could
become a dangerous and lasting
legacy of the recession of 2009,
and it’s a threat businesses should
watch out for and fight with every
means at their disposal.
Fifth and finally, remember,
there is always opportunity, even in
the worst of times. In the face of
the recessionary storm, some
companies cut costs so aggressively that they’ve deprived themselves of the resources they’ll need
to rev up for recovery. Others failed to grasp
the gravity of the situation and now find themselves awash in red ink. Then there are those
who maintained their balance, walking that
fine line between surviving the downturn and
making only those cuts that were absolutely
necessary. Needless to say, these are the companies that will be ready to burst out of the gate
and exploit the opportunities that a rebounding economy will no doubt present.
