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It’s hard to be up when things are down.
Especially when so much of what we hear is negative and full of over-used, media-hyped words and phrases.
So enough already with “bailout,” “Wall Street” and “Main Street.” And this year, can we maybe tune out environmental buzzwords like “green” and “going green?” Ditto that for “carbon footprint” or “carbon offsetting.” And let’s hope we’ll never again hear “maverick,” or “first dude.” Oh yeah, it’s game over for “game changer” and “staycation.”
“Unemployment.” “Layoffs.” Let’s get them on the list real soon, too.
Read the complete and entertaining Lake Superior State University 2009 List of Banished Words (and what some actually mean)at http://www.lssu.edu/banished/current.php
Feel free to share this article with colleagues and friends.
Insight, innovation, customer satisfaction and retention, keys to opportunities during tough times.
A new survey of marketing professionals by the Marketing Executives Networking Group says “insight and innovation are viewed as keys to combat down economic and business cycles.”
In the article appearing in DMNews, the MENG survey also “pointed to customer satisfaction and retention as key concepts for most marketers.” “For retailers who are still looking for the bottom, further appealing to customer loyalty, expanding digital and mobile initiatives and building relationships beyond the holiday season should be priorities.”
“Executives have to lead their people out of a psychological funk and at the same time tailor their business to focus on a new reality," says management consultant Ram Charan, in an article in BusinessWeek online. That’s good advice during any business cycle, but even more so today. Here are five tips that offer new rules for managing through what likely will be a difficult 2009—and possibly beyond:
1. Change Your Way of Thinking
Money is scarce. Markets are volatile. Morale is harder to boost in an atmosphere of anxiety. Acknowledge to yourself and your team that the world has changed. It’s time to question every technique that worked during boom years.
Many of the best managers in 2008 were gearing up for battle during good times. Mark Hurd at Hewlett-Packard, for example, has made drastic cost cuts, shed marginal businesses, and focused on playing to HP's strengths over the last few years. Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase made substantial changes that shored up his bank's balance sheet and left him ready to pounce as rivals fell, according to the article.
2. Get Your Financial House In Order
A key issue for many companies right now is getting the funds needed to help a business grow. Only those with strong balance sheets stand a chance. Everyone used to have easy access to capital. No more. In just one year, the difference in the cost to borrow between a typical investment-grade company and a noninvestment-grade company has tripled.
Getting to financial health will require sacrifice, from selling off assets at bargain prices to issuing stock in a down market. "If your stock was at $50, it may not feel good to issue stock when it is $20," says Marc Zenner, managing director at J.P. Morgan's Capital Structure Advisory & Solutions group. "But if you don't do it, the situation could become a lot worse."
3. Make A Move For Market Share
The pie is getting smaller, and less nimble rivals are getting weaker. Don't wait for your competitors to go out of business. Hire away their best people while taking steps to make sure they don't grab yours. Buy assets from cash-strapped rivals on the cheap. Take steps to solicit new customers at a time when others are cutting back on service.
Abandon strategies or products that don't fit the core business. Wal-Mart last year dumped its policy of stuffing a wide variety of products into stores to broaden its appeal. Instead, the world's largest retailer focused on simplifying its mix and lowering prices of its most popular products, according to Chief Merchandising Officer John Fleming. The result: more share in hot-selling categories like flat-screen TVs.
4. Reward Your Best
It's tempting to cut compensation across the board. Now is the time to differentiate more than ever and focus on rewarding your best. If you have to cut costs, start at the top. When FedEx CEO Frederick W. Smith announced broad salary cuts last month, he took the largest hit, with a 20% pay cut. As New York-based organizational psychologist Ben Dattner says: "The last thing you want is for people to perceive that you're in it for yourself."
If you can't give staff more money, look for ways to give them more power. Shell Refining singled out top supervisors at its Port Arthur (Tex.) refinery last year and asked their advice on how to improve the plant's performance. The result was higher morale, according to refinery general manager Todd Monette, and a 30% reduction in unplanned maintenance work.
5. Dare To Innovate
Innovating now can leave you nicely situated for a turnaround. Pfizer broke apart both its research and business units last year to help spur new ideas. Corey Goodman, head of Pfizer's Biotherapeutics & Bioinnovation Center in San Francisco, says “the move has made Pfizer more efficient and more entrepreneurial."
For those willing to take some risks, 2009 can be a time of great possibilities. "A leader is someone who doesn't do what everyone else does," says Richard S. Tedlow, a professor of business administration at Harvard Business School. "If you have a product you believe in, now is the time to make a bigger investment—not a smaller one."
Especially when so much of what we hear is negative and full of over-used, media-hyped words and phrases.
So enough already with “bailout,” “Wall Street” and “Main Street.” And this year, can we maybe tune out environmental buzzwords like “green” and “going green?” Ditto that for “carbon footprint” or “carbon offsetting.” And let’s hope we’ll never again hear “maverick,” or “first dude.” Oh yeah, it’s game over for “game changer” and “staycation.”
“Unemployment.” “Layoffs.” Let’s get them on the list real soon, too.
Read the complete and entertaining Lake Superior State University 2009 List of Banished Words (and what some actually mean)at http://www.lssu.edu/banished/current.php
Feel free to share this article with colleagues and friends.
Insight, innovation, customer satisfaction and retention, keys to opportunities during tough times.
A new survey of marketing professionals by the Marketing Executives Networking Group says “insight and innovation are viewed as keys to combat down economic and business cycles.”
In the article appearing in DMNews, the MENG survey also “pointed to customer satisfaction and retention as key concepts for most marketers.” “For retailers who are still looking for the bottom, further appealing to customer loyalty, expanding digital and mobile initiatives and building relationships beyond the holiday season should be priorities.”
“Executives have to lead their people out of a psychological funk and at the same time tailor their business to focus on a new reality," says management consultant Ram Charan, in an article in BusinessWeek online. That’s good advice during any business cycle, but even more so today. Here are five tips that offer new rules for managing through what likely will be a difficult 2009—and possibly beyond:
1. Change Your Way of Thinking
Money is scarce. Markets are volatile. Morale is harder to boost in an atmosphere of anxiety. Acknowledge to yourself and your team that the world has changed. It’s time to question every technique that worked during boom years.
Many of the best managers in 2008 were gearing up for battle during good times. Mark Hurd at Hewlett-Packard, for example, has made drastic cost cuts, shed marginal businesses, and focused on playing to HP's strengths over the last few years. Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase made substantial changes that shored up his bank's balance sheet and left him ready to pounce as rivals fell, according to the article.
2. Get Your Financial House In Order
A key issue for many companies right now is getting the funds needed to help a business grow. Only those with strong balance sheets stand a chance. Everyone used to have easy access to capital. No more. In just one year, the difference in the cost to borrow between a typical investment-grade company and a noninvestment-grade company has tripled.
Getting to financial health will require sacrifice, from selling off assets at bargain prices to issuing stock in a down market. "If your stock was at $50, it may not feel good to issue stock when it is $20," says Marc Zenner, managing director at J.P. Morgan's Capital Structure Advisory & Solutions group. "But if you don't do it, the situation could become a lot worse."
3. Make A Move For Market Share
The pie is getting smaller, and less nimble rivals are getting weaker. Don't wait for your competitors to go out of business. Hire away their best people while taking steps to make sure they don't grab yours. Buy assets from cash-strapped rivals on the cheap. Take steps to solicit new customers at a time when others are cutting back on service.
Abandon strategies or products that don't fit the core business. Wal-Mart last year dumped its policy of stuffing a wide variety of products into stores to broaden its appeal. Instead, the world's largest retailer focused on simplifying its mix and lowering prices of its most popular products, according to Chief Merchandising Officer John Fleming. The result: more share in hot-selling categories like flat-screen TVs.
4. Reward Your Best
It's tempting to cut compensation across the board. Now is the time to differentiate more than ever and focus on rewarding your best. If you have to cut costs, start at the top. When FedEx CEO Frederick W. Smith announced broad salary cuts last month, he took the largest hit, with a 20% pay cut. As New York-based organizational psychologist Ben Dattner says: "The last thing you want is for people to perceive that you're in it for yourself."
If you can't give staff more money, look for ways to give them more power. Shell Refining singled out top supervisors at its Port Arthur (Tex.) refinery last year and asked their advice on how to improve the plant's performance. The result was higher morale, according to refinery general manager Todd Monette, and a 30% reduction in unplanned maintenance work.
5. Dare To Innovate
Innovating now can leave you nicely situated for a turnaround. Pfizer broke apart both its research and business units last year to help spur new ideas. Corey Goodman, head of Pfizer's Biotherapeutics & Bioinnovation Center in San Francisco, says “the move has made Pfizer more efficient and more entrepreneurial."
For those willing to take some risks, 2009 can be a time of great possibilities. "A leader is someone who doesn't do what everyone else does," says Richard S. Tedlow, a professor of business administration at Harvard Business School. "If you have a product you believe in, now is the time to make a bigger investment—not a smaller one."