Thriving in a Challenging Economy: 2009's Business Imperatives

Wow, what a year 2008 was - one I'm sure many of us wish we could forget, especially as we review our 401K statements. As we all adopt our New Year's resolutions and embrace an "onward and upward" attitude, I wanted to pass on some considerations for thriving in a challenging economy.

A smart move is to embrace technology as an "operational lever" to help boost productivity and get closer to your customers. Some considerations as you forward into the new year:

1) Save to invest
- Intelligently reduce costs to fund investments for improvement
- Focus on profitability, focus on Capital Efficiency
- No investments that don't offer a fast return
- How can I cut costs out of my business without impacting the bottom line?

2) Unlock Employee Potential
- Nuture key employees - focus on motivation and morale
- Invest in Talent Management systems (e.g. Taleo, SuccessFactors)
- How can I enable them to do more with less?
- How can I get them to work harder, smarter, faster (perks like teleworking have been show to boost morale by 10-25% and employee productivity by 10-20%)

3) Drive True Customer Intimacy
- Get much closer to key customers (even when not buying!)
- Include customers in your decision making processes
- How can I personalize / customize to match customer needs?
- How can I ensure I'm giving them the best service possible?
- How can I empower them to get answers fast and easy, without having to dedicate more resources?

Focusing on these three imperatives as you head into 2009 is sure to get your year off to the right start!