Recently, my friend, Jim, shared with me a message he communicated to his employees in 2008. Instead of talking about layoffs and cost cutting, as many were during the Great Recession, Jim told his employees that they wouldn’t be participating in the recession. He committed that performance-based raises and bonuses would continue. While others were devastated by the economy, ...
In this series, we’re discussing different approaches to leading a company through a recession. Visionaries often differ from the financially driven in that they view a recession as a time to expand market share. If your company has the strength financially, recessions can be a great time to expand. While Blockbuster Video stores still dominated the video market, ...
In this series, we’re discussing different approaches to leading a company through a recession. Some leaders are financially driven who try to limit risk; others are visionaries. When a recession is imminent, the financially driven will usually eliminate staff. But a visionary is different. After 9-11, the airline industry was devastated. Almost all major airlines began massive layoffs. Southwest Airlines ...
According to a Bank of America survey, 77% of fund managers believe a recession is imminent. When recessions are likely, there are typically two types of leaders: visionaries or the financially driven. The financially driven typically become defensive in their decisions trying to eliminate risk. Visionaries, however, see a coming recession as an opportunity to build customers and market ...
In the mid-1980s the retail industry was changing. Walmart was growing rapidly, while Kmart was beginning to decline. Jim, a friend of mine, was an executive at Kmart at the time. Jim remembers Kmart executives holding a weekend retreat specifically to discuss Walmart’s success. Yet, any comments addressing the possibility that Walmart could overtake Kmart were quickly squelched. When ...
Years ago, on a South African flight, I met a young lady named Emma. At the time she was an event planner. According to her Linkedin profile, she is now Vice President of Marketing in China for a significant international company. When I congratulated her, she shared that five years ago she felt God would use her career “to serve ...
If I were to say to you, “St Patrick’s Day,” what are the first images that come to mind? If you’re like me, it might be something like “a parade full of drunks.” Yet, the first celebrations of this Irish priest were closer to a Holy Day than a drunken parade. How did the purpose of these celebrations stray so ...
In the book of Acts, the disciples were faced with a significant transition in their ministry. Jesus, their leader, had ascended to heaven, leaving them to carry on the work. The disciples modeled for us the first two keys of organizational transitions when they prayed corporately and then they filled their leadership gaps. The third key we can learn from ...
For decades, retail stores counted heavily on Black Friday to meet their annual sales goals, especially small independent retailers. Covid, however, upended that long time business strategy. In 2020, according to the Washington Post, in-store shopping fell 37 percent on Black Friday from 2019. Although many might hope that Black Friday will return to normal, this is unlikely. Independent retailers ...
Recently, a friend introduced us to a niche I never knew existed, a motorcoach resort. Just like some people prefer staying in luxury hotels, there are many RV owners who prefer a luxury place to stay during their seasonal travel. Buying a motorcoach resort lot allows these high-end RV owners to also invest in property rather than renting. Our friend’s ...
Equipping Others to Do Work Differently
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