Planning to thrive

BY CHRISTINE PERKETT

The current state of our business economy is not so different than the season at hand. While overall, the sky is still relatively gray and rain drops continue to fall, hope remains for sunnier days ahead. The question now is, how do you muddle through today and prepare for tomorrow at the same time? How do you stay positive as we continue to wait for a full rebound?

While businesses continue to grapple with challenges such as cash flow, inventory management and staff morale, leaders must plan for the future – and lead their organizations into recovery. Balancing the continued hardships of today with the opportunities of tomorrow is not always easy, but is necessary for long-term success.

You may still feel that you are in survival mode, but now is the time to start thinking beyond that phase – yes, it’s still important to keep costs minimal but it’s also a good time to look back and take an inventory of the last year. What has been set aside or sacrificed – by you, your customers or your employees – in order to make it through one of the worst economic crashes many of us have ever lived through? Surely the majority of us had to make tough choices when it came to staff, expansion plans, maybe even location. Benefits or salaries may have been cut, or inventory more focused. Take a look around at what you had to do and begin to plan for how you’ll slowly – deliberately – begin to reinstate items that you had to give up. Talk to employees, customers, partners – ask them what they’d like to see from you in the next year or two. Incorporate suggestions into your planning as appropriate and take heart that you have supporters who look forward to your future as much as you do.

As you look back, stop for a moment and be proud that you’ve been able to make it through this tough time and still remain in business. Be proud and be confident in your ability to continue forward, but remember – you have to keep moving and planning. If you have survived this economic crash, take heart that you are one savvy business owner that knows how to navigate the worst that can be thrown at you. Look back at what you’ve done, take a deep breath and jump into your next big challenge – moving beyond surviving to thriving. ■


Christine Perkett is Founder and President of PerkettPR in Boston. Connect with her on Twitter @missusP; LinkedIn: Christine Perkett; or perkettpr.com.


Published in Cape & Plymouth Business May 2010