Surviving And Thriving In Tough Times:Resilience In Chaos Is Key

by Linda Nash

I remember the scene in the movie “Forrest
Gump,” where every shrimp boat but Forrest’s
had been disabled in a major storm. His dumb
luck, having been at sea, saved him. Even
though he wasn’t a great fisherman, with no
competition he was wildly successful. Don’t
count on luck in this storm.

Economic recession was upon us before September
11, but now, in addition, there is a
massive realignment going on. Exotic travel
destinations are out, local and regional tourism
is in. Market segments providing protective
equipment, drugs, and supplies to the military
are working feverishly, while others are suddenly
idle. Realignment brings chaos. If your
business is being negatively impacted, this is
a time for clarity, courage and commitment.
Why is it that some people and businesses
seem to succeed no matter what happens?
Luck may help, but resilience is the key.

Resilience is more than surviving—it is thriving.
Even in the most visionary organizations
unforeseen obstacles or setbacks occur. This
sudden, massive economic realignment is a
major test. The resilient organization, the one
with fundamental strength and flexibility, will
take stock, let go of what no longer works,
identify new opportunities, and adapt rapidly.

There are three distinct stages to resilience.
Strength in all three is necessary in order to
thrive. Each stage is dependent on the previous
one. If your business is deficient in stage
one, the “Core,” attempts in stages two and
three may fall flat or take years to accomplish.
Like the core of a golf ball, your core helps
determine the trajectory, the speed and the
distance you will go. It’s your basic strength—
without it you may not survive, much less
thrive.

Core Issues

Review your mission, your purpose. Is it just
writing on a piece of paper, or is everything you
do aligned with it? This creates your direction.
Of course you can change it, but do it consciously.
Businesses get in trouble when they
don’t know who they are and what they do.
Here, focus is important. Who are you? What
are you selling and to whom? What is your
niche? Then comes the most difficult question:
Why? I’ll leave you to ponder this one.

People who offer a commodity, that is, something
similar to what others are offering, simply
dilute the market. Specialize within your segment
and you’ll save time, money and increase
your bottom line with less effort.
Communication is key to any successful
business. From big budget advertising to
networking opportunities, the marketplace
needs to know who you are and what you
provide. Here’s where branding comes in.
Oversimplified, branding is communicating your
mission. Do you have a plan? And are you
implementing it?

Speed Issues

This second stage of resilience determines
how quickly you can respond, adapt and take
advantage of new opportunities. Risk is required.
Your core may be solid, but it is easy to
bog down here. Do you regularly re-examine
the way you do things and look for better ways?
Are you willing to try new ideas, and as the
great mythologist Joseph Campbell says,
“leap?” Safe can mean sorry—the road not
taken.

Rethink how your business can prosper in
this time of realignment and focus your efforts
there. It may mean drastic changes, tweaking,
or this may be your shining hour—you’re in the
right business at the right time. Saying NO to
a piece of business or letting go of the way you
have operated in the past can be scary. Your
ability to use Limit Theory™ to discard the
non-useful and determine clearly what you will
not do in the future will define your business.

The important thing is not to stagnate. Growth
means change, and change means growing
pains. Rapid growth is often as painful as
downsizing

Be vigilant and open to new opportunitiesThen, be willing to take the risk to let go of the
past and seize them.

How High Will You Go?
The third stage of resilience determines your
ultimate success. Your core may be solid; you
may be willing to change and take risks, but if
you don’t commit and implement—nothing
happens.

I have consulted with many businesses that
share this problem: the inability to “pull the
trigger.” If you are forever stuck in the planning
stage saying, “as soon as…,” you will either be
too late and behind the market, or you won’t do
it at all. In either case, you may keep on keeping
on, but that’s about it. Don’t settle—don’t let
your business become mediocre when it could
be great.

Most businesses aren’t clear about where to
put their efforts. I find that almost all are trying
to implement, to make sales, to keep moving.
That’s important, that’s the third stage. However,
if your business is not performing at
optimum, the problem is in one of the eight
dimensions of stages one and two.

Resilience is both measurable and changeable.
Think about your business, and which
stage really needs some work. Fix that and you
can be successful despite economic shifts and
realignment.

Challenges are inevitable. Defeat is optional.
Don’t just survive—thrive!

Linda Nash, (Lindaljn@aol.com) president
of L.J. Nash & Associates, Inc., consults
and speaks nationally on organizational
and individual change and resilience,
and has authored four books—the
most recent, “The Bounce Back Quotient