Executive Lessons

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Executive Lessons Offered by the Recent Financial Crisis

Economic Adversity Sometimes Offers Opportunity

While no individual or organization wants to face adversity and challenge, classic theory maintains that both “build character” and discover innovative solutions. The recent deep global recession has offered a plethora of “opportunity” to meet overwhelming challenges.

Even the many personal challenges a down economy engenders offer senior executives fuel for new techniques and strategies that translate to success in the office. Similar to the “natural selection” theory mandating that only the strong animals survive, recessions test senior executive creativity and persistence. The strong survive and prosper, while those who allow financial adversity to dominate their actions may or may not succeed.

In all cases, senior executives should seek out the opportunities created by down economies. For example, sometimes conditions create a “market vacuum” in an industry. A company that fills this vacuum with new, improved, or modified products may enjoy a generous spike in sales and income, while its competition suffers a natural decline in revenue. Finding these opportunities and forcefully acting upon them can generate new income streams that offset other down economy problems.
Useful Management Lessons Offered by Down Economies Financial crises, whether regional, national, global, or confined to a single organization, present challenges to senior management that require a variety of thoughtful responses. Some of the more common—and important—considerations seem to dictate that C-level executives compile a personal and organizational “inventory.” Evaluating these issues in an “as is” condition offers a benchmark for future strategy decisions.

Prudence: “Hot” economies often mask the potential cost of a lack of prudence of strategies and techniques. Actions that result in success in up economies may prove to be dangerous during financial crises.

Vulnerability: During economic adversity periods, learn to accept, appreciate, and understand the vulnerability of an individual or organization. Even the highest performing senior executives and companies are vulnerable to down economies and financial crisis.

Determination: Recessions emphasize the criticality of determination. As all overachievers know, it’s never about how many times one is knocked down. It’s always about how many times one gets up. Should you or your company “take a hit,” get right back in the management game. Don’t allow fear of failure settle in. Never lose your focus, intensity, or creativity. If necessary, drive yourself to remain determined to succeed.

Passion: Usually required for success, passion often disappears in the midst of economic crisis. This is natural and to be expected. Be prepared to generate “artificial” passion, which, like visualization techniques, often re-energizes real passion to succeed once again.

Productivity: Always a prime issue, productivity, like passion, often takes a back seat to putting out the many “fires” that arise from financial adversity. C-level executives must re-ignite their usual focus on productivity, while managing the lurking potential disasters, real or imagined.

Patience: Few overachieving senior executives are blessed with an overabundance of patience. Whatever the level of patience executives enjoy, it’s always heavily taxed during down economies. Most C-level execs want to eliminate all problems immediately. While noble, this attitude simply doesn’t work during a deep recession. Highly driven senior executives must practice equal levels of patience during a financial crisis. Establishing a dedication to purpose with healthy doses of patience, effective executives usually solve their organizations' problems successfully.

Balance: Much discussed in the 21st century, achieving balance is both important and often misunderstood. Even highly experienced executives may define balance as making all factors “equal” in importance, focus, and attention. This is a mistake. Achieving “proper” balance should be the C-level executive’s goal. Focusing on “equal” balance implies that all issues (corporate, personal, financial, etc.) are of identical importance and require similar effort. All senior executives are aware that seldom, if ever, does this condition occur. Prioritize issues to achieve proper balance.

These issues and lessons do not exist independently. As a senior executive, you should attempt to mix and integrate these suggestions into a cohesive management strategy to take advantage of the opportunities offered and solving the problems created by an overwhelming general financial crisis.

For example, you should mix patience with determination and productivity to stay ahead of your competition. Generate passion tempered by prudence and patience to take advantage of identifiable opportunities to excel. Reflective thought combined with strong action can help C-level executives become bright lights in periods of economic darkness.