hen you are in the middle of executing many projects, you do not get time to think. Work work and work. There is no time to think. As a founder or the chief, you need to squeeze time to think on new ideas, on a daily basis. Once we stop thinking on new ideas, a sudden vacuum will appear.
Time is hard to get
You need time to unwind from fatigue. You need time to warm up to new ideas. You need time to meet people, discuss in length on ideas. When you are on execution mode, you do not look at any of the above. Because the work you do will generate revenue and that revenue is important to run the business. When we utilize the available time to think, it gives enough insights on our wrong doings.
Slowdown is the best time to do introspection on the past activities. Even just a 1 or 2 hours discussion will throw a lot of light. The reason why many companies do not do this, is because they are afraid of accepting the facts and problems. When orders slow down, you must do this introspection.
Conserve
When things slow down, the first thing that every company will do is to conserve the available funds. This opens debates on which division is doing good and bad. Effective channelizing of fund must be one of your top items during slow down.
Cash in hand is more worth now. Do not underestimate the power of cash pile.
There is also a sentiment meter running low during slowdown. To motivate people during this time is to reskill or train them. There will be items to learn on many aspects. People wish to go thru annual training programs to keep up to date with the rest of the world. So train and enable the workforce. Training never goes waste. This is the intellectual capital you must build for the future.
Meet customers that you have not met before. This is one area that the senior management must do. Meeting customers and hearing the good and bad is always helpful. Whether you act on those feedback or not, you must first listen to them. Now you get time.
Be Positive
A slowdown is not bad. Do not spread that mindset. Every industry will go thru ups and downs on a periodic basis. This is the precise reason that every company hires full time as well as temp workers. And every company cannot be just thinking all the time or executing all the time. If the company does not have R&D division, then this is the time to invest in R&D.
KEY ITEMS TO REMEMBER:
- Conserve the money
- Meet customers
- Research
- Reskill
Slowdown will pass by. Greener days are ahead always.
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