Growthonomics: October 2008: Gloom or more Boom?

Given the recent wild gyrations of all things economic and global, the word ‘growth’ may not be uppermost in your minds.  Some of us have seen similar periods of turbulence in the past, but for those experiencing this for the first time, it is disconcerting.  May I offer a few, not very original thoughts, which may help build your sense of wellbeing and resilience at this time:

1. Maintain perspective - in life, have you noticed that things are rarely as good or as bad as you hope or fear them to be?  Long anticipated holidays never quite meet expectations (and too often are dreadful disappointments) and today, having just heard that the ASX tanked by 7.5% overnight, why do I feel surprisingly happy just gazing at the blue sky?  Dale Carnegie offers sensible advice in his book “How to Stop Worrying and Start Living”- to think of the worst possible outcome for the situation you are worrying about, imagine it has happened and write down what you will now do.  This simple exercise demonstrates to ourselves that we can deal with major setbacks.  We also know that only seldom do the things we most worry about ever actually happen!

2. Welcome the downs as well as the ups – when markets are easy, some businesses drop standards (like service and quality), allow costs to mushroom and get complacent.  Good businesses (like yours) don’t make those mistakes.  Now, use these times as opportunities to grow your brand and market share by taking advantage of your customers’ desire to seek security, quality and the reassurance of doing business with people whom they trust.

3. Take this opportunity to revisit your business plan – get your team together to redo a SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat) analysis and update your priorities to reflect the new reality.  There may be as yet undiscovered opportunities, for example, to increase exports with a weaker dollar, or to buy out a competitor.

4. Differentiate yourself and your team by being positive – customers don’t enjoy buying from, and working with, miserable people.  Let your competition have a monopoly on long faces and make every interaction with your business a positive experience.  Smile your way to success!

5. Be happy we live in Western Australia, not Iceland – apart from the better weather and the absence of volcanoes, we are fortunate to live in the fastest growing state in one of the most resilient economies in the world.   The 2009 growth forecast (IMF, Oct 8) for Australia is still a healthy 2.5 % and the most recent prediction for WA (CCIWA, Oct 9) is unchanged at 5.5%.  China’s economy, upon which we are so heavily reliant, is still forecast to grow by 9.3% next year (Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics, Sept 22).

I wish all readers continuing personal and business growth.

Richard Thorning

Director – Entrepreneurship & Executive Education (aka, for today anyway, Dr Happy)