You Cannot Cut Your Way to Success
In these difficult times, many business leaders have no choice but to cut costs to survive. These executives face wrenching decisions that require a dispassionate organization-level view of what roles, products, and other investments are truly essential.
But business leaders should be cognizant that the current downturn will pass. It always does. And once it does, companies that succeed must be positioned for future growth.
Keeping an eye on the future, even at a time like this, is key for long term success. Balancing survival now and growth later strategies at the same time is hard, but that’s what strong leaders do.
What’s the point of short term survival if your company loses the potential for upside in the future recovery? If your company is crippled from cutting too deeply, then nimbler competitors will win.
To succeed your business needs a strategy for future growth.
Not all growth needs to wait either. There are also many opportunities now for nimble companies.
Alliance, for example, is working on some great deals for our investors, including two deals we closed the first week of June. I am optimistic that market turmoil has created many hidden gems for those that know where to look. It can be much harder to find the opportunities in some industries compared to others, but opportunity is always there.
It’s a big leadership challenge to balance the mindsets, strategies, and leadership styles of both current-day survival, and future growth. But it’s necessary. So do what you need to do to survive, but don’t forget to maintain your capacity to thrive.
