Beware the snake oil salesman

February 17, 2009
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I suppose it had to happen, but I still sorry that it did.  Today in a strategiesmeeting with a potential service provider, I was warned to ‘batten down the hatches’.  He waived a book about ‘The Next Depression’ in my face (hot off the presses) and told me about a program of work he has designed to meet the needs of companies like mine and my customers’ who will surely save and benefit from outsourcing services to him.

I wish him luck, but I don’t agree with his approach and thankfully neither do many Australians, as far as I can see.  My day started at a business breakfast where small business owners reported specific examples of both negative and positive impacts of the economy on their businesses.  My next meeting was with a small business owner who had shed a few staff, but reported a greater clarity of his business’ value and purpose as a result.  And, while riding the train, I enjoyed reading the following summary in MIS Australia from the Harvard Management Update – They are the common pitfalls a business should avoid…

Pitfall 1:  Delaying decisions that will improve long-term health

Pitfall 2:  Assuming the way to gear back up is always cautious and incremental

Pitfall 3:  Trying to bulletproof the company by moving into recession resistant businesses

Pitfall 4:  Focusing on broadening your customer base (instead of cherishing the customers you have)

Pitfall 5:  Assuming that a recovery is based on what leaders do, not what they think

‘ “Attutude matters,” economist Wesbury says.  If business leaders don’t expect the recovery to be strong, then “their fears could become self-fulfilling”.  Full story here:  http://tinyurl.com/dyjqa7

I am not suggesting that you take your current business struggles lightly or ignore them while sitting in the corner applying the power of positive thinking.  But, what I am suggesting is this…what we focus on grows.  Perhaps we could all take a lesson from the Twitter community who have started flagging #goodnews items about the economy.   So try this for a resolution…instead of starting your next conversation around fear, try focussing on opportunity.  Which one would you rather talk about over a coffee anyway?

 

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