Tuesday 31 March 2009

Positivity and Productivity


Positivity and Productivity - the only solutions to recovery of the economy.
Advice to businesses large and small on how to proceed in dark times.


When making a statement about the economy in January, Business Minister Baroness Vadera was ridiculed for acknowledging on ITV news that she had seen ‘a few green shoots of recovery’.
Is keeping a positive mindset in such bleak times worthy of ridicule? Surely such negative criticism is, in part, responsible for the country’s current predicament, and a positive, productive mindset is the only way to make a speedy recovery!

For businesses that are having difficulty covering their expenses, as a result are making redundancies and are ultimately having to scale back to revert to core products, there can seem to be no silver lining to this dark and seemingly endless economic cloud. How then, should they go about survival and (dare I say it) growth?

Are small and medium businesses doing enough to seek out those silver linings?

Business leaders and companies who remain positive, who seek out new innovations and increased efficiencies will be the companies leading the charge to economic recovery and sustained future growth. This does not mean companies should not be looking at their costs, making cuts where required and battening down the hatches where appropriate, but far too many companies are burying their heads in the sand and consolidating instead of expanding.

There is not a business in the world that could not increase its efficiency, work in a more productive way or create even better value for their customers. Yes, there are some businesses that simply cannot get the funds to make the improvements required or are in markets with terminal decline, but the majority of directors and business owners can use the recession to make their business more robust, more efficient and a leaner, stronger, more viable machine. You don’t always need to reinvent the wheel, just keep actively looking for opportunities to improve!
You might be surprised how your perception of the current economy and your businesses future prospects will change.

My key tips:

  • Don’t stop innovating.
  • Always encourage your team to make suggestions for efficiency improvements. After all, they are the individuals who experience the pros and cons of your business on a daily basis.
  • Don’t make “nickel and dime” savings to the detriment of your business’s long term prospects, they may well result in false economies.
  • Use to your advantage the additional flexibility that small and medium businesses have over their larger rivals.
  • Difficult decisions need to be made, don’t put them off or ignore them – Make them today.

    One thing is a certainty; the economic recession will come to an end! Remain positive and continue to innovate... This surely is the road to helping your green shoot grow into an oasis of business opportunity.
  • Our ability to accept the surreal, adapt and keep moving forward, is a fantastic human quality right now. Upon collecting my dad...