During our last “worst recession since the Great Depression” in the early part of this decade, I demonstrated a poor sense of timing by taking an executive job overseeing a professional services team or 70+ people. Over the following two years, I had the displeasure of laying off 80% of that team. But I learned a lot from the experience.
Afterward, I wanted to share what I learned with others, so I wrote a piece called Lessons from the Doom Loop for Fast Company. Its core premise was that there are many lessons to be learned in a company (or country or industry) that you simply don’t learn in the bullish times.
Many months after submitting the article, Fast Company’s Editor-in-chief finally got around to reading it and it was published. Unfortunately, by the time it was in print (2004), the unpleasant memories of that downturn were fading as we all rode a new wave of growth and prosperity.
With mixed emotions, I can now say that the article is relevant. You can read it by clicking here. But do more than that -answer back with the lessons you’re learning about strategy, implementation, and leadership from our current set of challenging circumstances. You can click the comment button below or send me an email at Ted.Harro@noondayventures.com.
