Different Thinking in Times of Turbulence

In a time of economic turbulence, we can't afford not to re-examine business as usual and make adjustments that create value, eliminate waste and develop knowledge within our organizations.

This concept applies equally to all parts of your organization, including your marketing and sales teams.

The key to success in turbulent times is agility -- the ability to make operational, portfolio, and strategic adjustments quickly to take advantage of opportunities presented:

• Operational - finding opportunities to increase revenues and reduce costs
• Portfolio - moving resources to more productive opportunities
• Strategic - re-examining objectives and grasping the future

In The Upside of Turbulence: Seizing Opportunities in an Uncertain World, Donald Sull makes the point that such agility cannot be driven from the top down. Mid-level managers need to take the initiative to seize opportunities, and they need to train those around them to turn those opportunities into new revenues.

Agility, creating value, eliminating waste, training within industry -- these are all lean concepts that sales and marketing professionals need to embrace to make a difference in turbulent times.

Different thinking isn't easy, but it is essential to continued prosperity.