Comments on: What Kind of Company Are You Going to Be in a Recession?

By: East Des Moines Chamber » Recession reaction: leave, wait or RUN?

East Des Moines Chamber » Recession reaction: leave, wait or RUN? — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 23:20:31 +0000

[...] developer Greg Cangialosi of Baltimore’s Blue Sky Factory recently posed a great question: “What kind of business will you be during a recession?” He then lays out three likely business responses: giving up, sitting and waiting, or “running [...]

By: links for 2009-02-28 « Shashi Bellamkonda - Social Media Swami

links for 2009-02-28 « Shashi Bellamkonda - Social Media Swami — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 18:02:08 +0000

[...] @GregCangialosi writing – What Kind of Company Are You Going to Be in a Recession? | – The Trend Jun… [...]

By: gregcangialosi

gregcangialosi — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 06:55:34 +0000

@Lori no doubt there is a challenge there, but like you say, BRING IT ON!

@KC thanks for your thoughts, your "first mover" message is right on.

Thanks for reading!

By: K.C. Hopson

K.C. Hopson — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 23:41:18 +0000

Thanks for a good article Greg. Smart companies are running hard now because they know that their competition is going to get thinned out. Recessions have a way of altering the business landscape and if you're a survivor then, in many ways, you have the advantage of a first mover when it's all over. Companies that are not lean and mean will probably not survive this downturn.

By: Lori T. Aulenbach

Lori T. Aulenbach — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 19:45:27 +0000

Compelling thoughts, Greg, considering most of us are forced to address the issue of marketing our products and services in a more budgetarily conscious fashion in these tough economic times AND charged with reaching outside the old collection of packaged offerings to think smarter, faster, more creatively in order to do ALMOST the same thing for MUCH less. Of course, that also means our internal, billable hours need to be fastidiously reigned in as well.

On another note, as we at Varsity Branding (http://www.varsitybranding.com) assist our 55+ market, we must also be aware of the greater significance the recession has taken on those owning 70% OF OUR DISPOSABLE INCOME in the US–our older adults. A lot of these folks are also our current CEOs and high level execs at the same firms we are connecting with in the global market, causing what we feel is the "double whammy" effect on revenues.

I find the challenge of matching services and budgets with ever-evolving client wants and needs has always been part of the overall business model, quarter after quarter, year after year and view the constantly changing landscape as a satisfying opportunity to showcase the art of client service. So BRING IT ON!

By: gregcangialosi

gregcangialosi — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 16:57:53 +0000

Thanks everyone for commenting!

@marc there is no doubt about it! great point on education. Its more important than ever to keep your team in the loop on the latest trends and educate at every opportunity you have! And to your point of hustling, absolutely, its a given (and hopefully the people inside of most organizations understand this). Hustle, hustle, hustle!!!

@lawton you hit the nail on the head!

@kate Right on! the "sit and wait" companies generally don't flow information and data and communicating on a frequent enough basis, and even MORE importantly, they don't communicate with their customers enough! Talk to your people and talk to your customers.

Great stuff, thanks for adding your thoughts!

By: Kate McPhail

Kate McPhail — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 15:54:00 +0000

I agree will all points, but wanted to add that generally the company that "Runs hard" also has a better means of internal communication. When your team is clued in, they feel more inclined to give in tough times; whereas, the company that "sits and waits" will often have employees too scared to do anything but fly under the radar to avoid any unwanted notice.
I also 100% agree with Marc, that you have to stay ahead of the curve.
Great post, Greg!

By: lawton chiles

lawton chiles — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 15:40:34 +0000

The whole "sit and wait" idea is a really bad one. You should be proactive, not just waiting for the market to change.

Right on.

By: Marc

Marc — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 15:22:54 +0000

I would add to your third point that running hard includes constantly looking for ways to improve your game, both individually and on a company level, which often means investing time in further education outside of the “9-5”. Even more now than ever it doesn’t cut it to just show up and hustle all day. Everyone has to commit to staying ahead of the curve, and getting fully engaged in the market. Without losing mindfulness of the market one almost needs to act as if there is no recession. The competition is fierce to say the least.