One man's misfortune is another's opportunity
Monday, February 16, 2009
Given the current state of the economy, my own employment situation and being on the board of a small business - I am frequently having conversations with people about when things will turn around and what they will look like in the aftermath.
There is no doubt, things will never be the same again. They will be similar, but different... and that's okay.
Occasionally, someone will ask "what if things never get better?"
I have pretty strong views that they will. I guess you would have deduced that from reading my blog on Optimism & Staying focused.
Reading this Business Week article titled For Some Small Businesses, Recession Is Good News sums up nicely why I believe the system might crash, but can be rebooted.
Whilst large corporations who have been consolidating and operating on "hyper growth, massive scale & nimble-as-the-Titanic" operating models are certainly going to be hurting during this cycle, the invisible hand ensures individuals, then small groups and then larger groups will find ways to adapt and profit in the new environment. This in turn helps reboot the system: slowly but surely.
Another example: as most industries were hurting as oil prices went up, Exxon Mobil reported a profit of $45.2 billion for 2008, breaking its own record for a U.S. company, and even as its fourth-quarter earnings fell 33 percent from a year ago. A good example that when someone is losing, someone else is winning... and a good example that fortunes can change rapidly.
There will be light at the end of the tunnel... we just have to do all the right things to survive in the tunnel for a while.
Image by Giuseppe Crimeni
posted by Lee Gale @ 5:53 PM,
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