With the stockmarkets slightly improved, some observers believe the economy is gradually starting to get out of the slump. Nevertheless, questions remain: is this a temporarily uplift due to inventory replenishment, to substantiated (or not) optimism, to the extraordinary efforts of the US government to restore their economy or to still other things ?

Well, your guess is as good as mine, nobody knows but the fundamentals remain weak so prudence is warranted.

When I talk to customers, I hear the same reasoning and, even worse, many had to take incisive measures to ensure survival. Imagine seeing demand drop with 40%! The nature, amount and ease of the opportunities how companies like ours can help customers has dramatically shifted.

For companies with the right attitude and proactiveness there is still opportunity... That's what customers tell me.

Chris

I would not make a guess on the duration of the crisis, but I want to give some recommendations to handle it, to get business done and to keep customers satisfied.

Therefore I would like to refer to one of my favourite authors (and mentor) Christopher V. Flett, CEO and founder of the Flett Group of companies. He is recognized internationally as a leader in business motivation, turnaround strategy and business development.

In one of his books, Christopher V. Flett describes the evolution of business models over the last fifty years. The model that is dominating business today is needed to keep customers loyal in a new global business environment, where bloggers are commenting without consequence (!) on what companies are doing, and where the world of business is simply a broadcast e-mail away. Companies will feel the result of their actions now in a matter of seconds rather than in months or years as before.

The business model dealing with this global business environment is based on integrity, authenticity and relationships.

Integrity = doing what is right.
Authenticity = delivering what is promised.
Relationship = knowing the person or people you are doing business with.

This is, still according to Christopher V. Flett, how women have been doing business for the last 50 years, they have always known that caring about the people you do business with is not only important, it is imperative.

This new model is perfectly suited for women and they are now in a position to lead. I fully agree with this point of view of Christopher V. Flett and I think it’s an interesting starting point for discussion; send your comments, discussion is open!

Mieke