Survive the Economy: Execute Flawlessly

As a business co-owner, it is impossible to look at all the bad news flowing around and not be concerned about the economic future of my business. Anywhere you look, the prevailing opinion is is that things are going to get worse before they get better, and there is this feeling of anxiety and trepidation about what the future holds for us professionally and personally. I personally believe that key for a business, be it large or small, is to execute flawlessly.

While a good economy can conceal sloppy execution, a bad economy will strip it bare. So things like watching expenses, focusing on growth, customer service, and a stellar core product--all things we should be doing regardless of economic state, become paramount in a downturn. In fact, all the lapses in execution you thought you got away with come back to haunt you. If you had sloppy customer service because you thought you had new customers coming by the hoards, will show itself in poor customer loyalty when the waters get rough. If you were expensing every fancy lunch because you had the profits to spend, well that's going to start hurting pretty soon. The bottom line is, if you've circumvented the fundamentals of running a business because you could, a sloppy economy will come after you like a stern task master. This is not to say that I've executed flawlessly, I don't think anyone can, but I can at least try. So here's to me working even harder to execute the best I can.

Oh, and in these days of information overload, it's easy to make emotional (i.e., panic) decisions. Remember, just like the "good 'ol days" it always pays to have a level head.

Quote of the Day

Throughout the course of human history, life on earth has been a
struggle, a disappointment to most, a tragedy to some, a triumph to a
few. But for the most of us, the small things in life make it
worthwhile. People managed to live through the plague in Europe 500
years ago. Aren't things better than that now? We have iPhones. There
is still every reason to have confidence, if we don't lose our heads.

                                                                     -- Stanley Bing

Comments

[ag]

good or bad economy "SELL" is the word. Flawless helps, but selling is the key. Don't think give, think sell.

[dan]

mix 3 parts hard work and 1 part luck.
If the mixture doesn't taste right, keep mixing till it does.

my 2c, flawless, perfection, these concepts aren't valuable and like the parable of the zen master you won't the future outcome of present actions. Just got a big new customer? That's great! Maybe a lawsuit, tarnished reputation, or a collections later not so great.

I agree with the principles behind your conclusion, and if your argument was flawless and clean execution can help you survive a downturn I wouldn't argue with you (or more likely I would just argue something else).

Also, the comment above (ag) is great.