Hope and Fear Are Not A Viable Strategy!

All to often many confuse hope as a strategy, it is not. However, even worse than that, we often let our fears dictate our business strategies. Don't get the wrong impression, both are needed to balance the scales when moving forward with various business plans, but hopefully the business plan is based on sound economic circumstances and judgement.

I would like to quote Amy Cosper from Entrepreneur magazine; "Call it what you will - recession, depression, correction - the economy is sobering and pretty scary. It's bad enough that Detroit is wheezing and Rome is burning, but what is worse is that the situation is making normally rational people act like loonies. It's fear. And it's a real business issue these days. But fear makes for a really crappy growth strategy.

Fear makes us irrational - like thinking cutting and growing are the same thing. Cutting costs does not equal growing sales. Never has. Never will.

Mark Richtermeyer, CEO of the Spitfire Group, is a wildly successful serial entrepreneur and motorcycle speed demon - and about as fearless as they come. But even 'Fearless Mark' is not completely immune. After one full day of poring over his companies financials and doing nothing else, he had this to say.

Everything was bumming me out. I was interviewing salespeople who said they'd work for commission only. I was worried about making sales, fearful of the economy. Where could I cut costs? I was worried about keeping my company relevant in a recession. Everything was bringing me down. I was grumpy and grousing around, and the sky was falling. I was completely focused on myself. And then it dawned on me; I have to start acting and thinking like an entrepreneur again. I let fear affect me, and it completely set my business and me back."

Yes, a healthy dose of fear can be good as long as it is tempered with reality. Let's not forget that products such as Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup, fluorescent light bulbs, McDonald's and Diet Coke were all created in the dark days of prolonged recessions - now is the time to become more fearless than ever, and recreate our future changing the rules of the game.

Starting with my next post, we will explore ways in which to reinvent the game and adopt the rules better to our liking.