My proposition has always been that it is the period after a recession that is most relevant for business strategy. Typically, changes in, for example, consumer behaviour that we witness during the recession are merely short-term reactions. The time to get out and find out how customers’ needs are more […]
A clear point emanating from my earlier posts and, importantly, discussions with business managers and leaders is that we cannot afford just to “sit this one out” and expect the business world (and in fact the world in general) to be in exactly the same shape as it was before […]
In my last posting Davos 2009, Recession and Business Strategy: Quo Vadis? I included some straightforward questions to start the process of “stress testing” your business strategy. In this posting I would like to explore the issue of “Stress” from a different perspective, which has a distinctly human element. Unfortunately […]
Davos: Are the muddied waters clearer? [Updated 25 February 2009] I thought that I would save my next blog entry on the strategy implications of economic recession until the conclusions of the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos emerged. I wanted to use the output from Davos to review my […]
In my January 2009 Executive Briefing I argue that we are dealing with far more than a recession. We are on the edge of a tipping point where the business world will probably undergo the biggest shift that we will witness in our lifetimes. If we thought that in the […]
Structural Change My last two entries introduced the challenge of structural change. I have drawn attention to the fact that recessions don’t just mean a period of economic contraction, they also bring the prospect of economic restructuring. And economic restructuring has fundamental implications for business strategy. I used financial services […]
The news on Monday 17th November that Citigroup was to shed 52,000 jobs, in addition to the 23,000 announced earlier this year is an upsetting indicator that the type of structural change described in my previous posting Recession and Strategy: The old questions don’t work anymore is upon us. Reports […]
One of the key changes in the world of strategy making is predictability or should I say the lack of it. A quick scan of just one issue of the Financial Times will reveal trends and developments that you may not have been aware of just 12 months ago. Take […]
Sunday’s business section of The Sunday Times fell open to the headline ‘Britain facing huge job losses’. Suddenly breakfast didn’t seem so palatable and indigestion loomed. Apparently, the latest research amongst employers reveals that 38% – very nearly 2 in 5 – plan redundancies over the next 3 months. The […]