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| The
Zen of Economic Recovery
By Carol Kallendorf,
Ph.D., Founder
I like to lift
weights and have recently begun something called
"Super Slow Weightlifting." It’s just what it
sounds like: lifting weights extra slow for extra burn and
muscle building. It’s very effective—there are only
two problems: It hurts and it’s tedious.
The same thing could be
said of fighting your way out of an economic downturn.
The best tip I got about
how to make Super Slow Weightlifting work is that you have
to get into a "Zen-like frame of mind." Your
mind truly goes to a different place, focused calmly on
the outcome you’re getting and oblivious to the pain and
the tedium. (Well—maybe not entirely oblivious, but
getting there.)
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| Carol
Kallendorf, PhD, Founder, The Delta Associates |
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In the last few weeks, I
have sensed a "Zen-like" focus among the
companies and people who look as if they have the staying
power to come out the other side of the economic downturn
stronger, more creative, and more successful. The sense of
shell-shock of the first half of the year is largely gone
among them. It’s been replaced by a studied resolve and
a kind of bedrock confidence. Here’s a sampling of what
I’ve been seeing and hearing:
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- The VP of a semiconductor
company—one of the most battered economic sectors—told
me the other day, "Really everything’s great. Our
only problem is that our stock has been pummeled. But we’ve
never executed this well. It’s all going to work."
- The VP of a telecommunications
company—another battered sector—said recently,
"This is really good for us. We’re small guys among
telecom giants. But we can turn on a dime—which the big
guys can’t—and that’s what we’ve done. And we needed
to learn the discipline of cash management and inventory
management. We’ll be a much better company for this."
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- Employees are beginning to say
things like, "I thought we were so stodgy when we
wouldn’t do vendor financing like our competitors. Now we’ve
got cash and they’ve got debt. It doesn’t sound so
stodgy now."
- Sure, a lot of layoffs have
happened (and there will be more to come). But there’s a
surprising amount of very strategic hiring that’s
happening, too.
- Companies are starting
cautious buying again. It’s as if large organizations took
a collective deep and Zen-like breath and are now saying,
"These are the things we really need and here’s where
I can touch some budget to get them."
- The silliness we saw in many
of the business plans and IPOs of the last few years is
being replaced by some solid business plans (with Zen-like
focus on revenue-generation and profitability) and the
venture capital money is starting to come back.
And now—for any of you who
watch Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show on Comedy
Central, as I do—for "Our Moment of Zen."
Judging from the Zen-like
companies that seem to be pulling themselves out of the
downturn, there are three things we all need to do to practice
Zen and the Art of Economic Recovery—and they’re similar to
what works in the Zen of Super Slow Weight-Lifting:
- Forget the pain:
The pain and the tedium won’t go away, if you want to get
the outcome.
- Do the hard stuff:
Practice the disciplines of pushing into new markets, ramping
up new products, and ratcheting down on skills like cash
management.
- Put your brain on the outcome:
The Zen of Economic Recovery is all about standing above the
pain and engaging the tough stuff, because you already see
your organization enjoying the outcome of success.
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