When People are Scared ....

Attributed to T. Boone Pickens,
"When people are greedy, be scared. When people are scared, be greedy."

Well, there's a lot of fear out there these days. It would be a great time to be greedy, if only one could figure out how to do that? We all need to have the optimism that the current recession will dissipate and a new business normality will emerge. With all the money the government is pouring into it, considering its our (and our kids) money, lets really hope so!

But, an item that few people are understanding is that we are in the midst of a paradigm changing event. The economic storm that is currently waging is one that is scouring the underlying landscape. Those who are hunkering down waiting it out presuming a previous business as usual business mode are in for a big and unpleasant surprise. Much like what happened at the beginning of the decade with the .com bust, things changed and all of us had to find a way to change with it. Those who were best prepared, were the ones that most benefited.

Greed does not have to be immediate. One can look at what is happening now as a great opportunity to be greedy in preparing for the new economic world. Now is the time for those with a strategic eye to be greedy, don't hide, but invest & prepare. If you start when the recovery begins, you are too late, the race has begun anew and you aren't even at the starting line.

Now is the time to seek out the visionaries, whether internal or external to your organization, and prepare. What must be understood is that preparation doesn't come without cost. To be greedy, requires some risk and requires putting together a strategic plan and actually executing on it now, not when the recovery begins. If you are up to speed when the recovery begins, that new wave will take you very far.

Ken