State of the Union
Recently, the economy has been a pretty unsettling topic of discussion. Lots of fear, uncertainty and doubt abound in discussions held by the government, the media, and around the water cooler. At Breakthrough, we have done several things to weather this economic storm, and I wanted to share some of those tips with this broader community.
1. Be conservative, but look for opportunities
Last year, Breakthrough was pretty flat from a staffing growth prerspective. We looked ahead at the growing uncertainty in the marketplace, we listened to the messaging from our customers, and we did not bring on some additional staff as we had planned originally. We found that with the arrival of some new business this year, we have had the opportunity to add some staff in 1Q09, which has been a great signal to our customers and staff that we are successfully weathering this storm.
2. Consider the contrarian approach
I believe in the philosophy of Warren Buffet, that we should look for opportunities where others are fearful. These are the times when business opportunities are most accessible to the little guys like us. Likewise, when the herd decides to shut down operations and dramatically cut costs, we believe in hunkering down with our team, keeping costs low, but protecting the jobs and people we have fought so hard to staff over the past 5 years. It would be easy to let them go, but if 10 years in this business has taught me anything, easy is almost never right.
3. Look to your people
In times where you are trying to make good hard decisions, look to your customers and your staff for input. One of the benefits of this recession is that we are all in this together - we are all struggling with the same problems and we are all invested in a similar outcome, that is, the re-emergence of global business opportunities. You will find many interesting ideas and perspectives that are not available to you in your corner office. Embrace them, welcome, them, and factor them into your plans.
4. Don't worry, be happy
Lastly, don't let the doom and gloom of the daily news cloud the bigger picture: we are all living through a necessary adjustment with the way things were going. We will all emerge from this together and find opportunities in the way things will be. Our relationship with the government may change, opportunities with new customers will emerge and fade, but we will still be hard-working, smart people looking to make a living for ourselves and our families and improve the lives of our customers and their families.
Some things will never change.
