What characterizes a recession? Panic, desperation, overreacting - in other words, the opposite of clear thinking. This is especially the case in the business world. Unfortunately, many companies fall victim to mistakes that are a result of allowing the market to wholly dictate their business moves. Because often times, what seem like good ideas at the time, simply are not. The following are some of the most common mistakes that businesses make from this paradigm, that actually end up costing them in the long run:
Sacrificing Talent to Save Money
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The first priority of every business is to be profitable. During recessions, it’s not uncommon for profits to dwindle while overhead and associated costs continually are increasing. As a result, many executives and managers are often tempted to lay off their best-paid talent. While this may solve the immediate problem of the budget, it creates long-term headaches far worse. Without the best talent, a business would likely emerge from the recession weaker and less able to compete than before.
Resisting Entrepreneurial Culture
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Successful business owners know that achieving high productivity is not always about following a rigidly enforced system. Rather, it often emerges from eccentric, “outside the box” approaches in which employees have the freedom to experiment and go with what works best. Unfortunately, recessions often smother this type of entrepreneurial culture. Sensing that tough times are ahead, many executives revert to command-and-control style bureaucracies because it gives them the illusion that they are “in control” of the company’s destiny - an illusion that the spontaneity of the old culture doesn’t offer. But it is precisely that, an illusion. Simply put, no company ever prospered during a recession by becoming more like the DMV.
Becoming Excessively Risk Averse
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Recessions are caused by any number of things, but what usually prolongs them is fear. (Hence the saying “recessions start between people’s ears.”) In addition to throttling the economy as a whole, risk aversion puts companies at a disadvantage, too. Rather than clamming up and adopting a conservative, defensive posture, most businesses would be better off taking Warren Buffet’s advice to, “…be greedy when others are fearful.” By all means, do your homework and calculate your risks. Do this instead of avoiding risk entirely.
Abruptly Halting Development and Expansion
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The following is another idea that seems to make sense: stop new product development and focus squarely on holding on to the turf you already have. However, a deeper look at the situation (and at history) reveals how wrong this may be. The one thing every recession has had in common is that they all have ended. When they do end, it does a company no favors to re-enter a good market without having progressed beyond where they left off at the time of the depression. Besides, as a Code Synthesis article explains, there are several advantages to expanding and developing new products during recessions:
“Office space becomes cheaper as the demand slows. It is easier to negotiate better deals with suppliers and partners as they become dependent on the revenue your business brings. Tax incentives for R&D, starting new businesses, and hiring people are often introduced during recessions to revive the economy.”
Dramatically Halting Advertising Expenditures
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Direct marketing guru Perry Marshall has an interesting take on the trend of cutting ad spending during recessions. “If advertising is truly the means by which the business acquires new customers”, Marshall says, “…then wouldn’t you do more of it during a recession?” The fact that most businesses don’t, is an indictment of how ineffective most advertising is. Rather than cutting ad spend across the board, try cutting ad spend on flashy, “image” advertising that is not accountable for results. Focus instead on ads that direct people to take specific action and that deliver quantifiable results.
Price Gouging
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Like firing top-paid talent, slashing prices solves an immediate problem, but can impose long-term consequences that are far worse. Sure, if sales are sagging, the quickest way to get a quick boost is lowering prices. But this can also change the way your customers perceive you - you may even be inadvertently conditioning customers to hold off buying until the next price cut. This can place businesses in a perpetual struggle against itself - as each boost in sales is accompanied by thinner and thinner profit margins. One way businesses can offset the desire to lower prices is by positioning products and services as ones with a solid value and quality - rather than being “budget”.
Changing Suppliers for Negligible Savings
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Every business owner knows that the right suppliers can make or break a company. The role suppliers play in the success of a business transcends the prices they charge, and includes such things as how reliable they are, they support they offer, etc. Unfortunately, this value is somewhat intangible, not easily accounted for on paper. Unless the new supplier is equally reliable and supportive as the old, the true savings could be a lot less than they appear (or even non-existent.)
Retracting Credit Lines or Terms
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It’s perfectly understandable to prefer cash payments, during recessions and good times alike. It’s easier to spend, easier to document, and most importantly, it is timely. That said, a customer who wants to pay with credit is still a customer. Provided they do not already owe delinquent debts and do not have a history of non-payment, turning “perfectly” business away is a huge mistake. The last thing a business ought do is make it difficult for customers to give them money. Deciding to remove or reduce credit, should always be reconsidered.
Believing The Media Too Much
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Who is being hurt the most by the recession? Journalists? Politicians? Is it any surprise, then, that these are the people spreading negativity and pessimism throughout the nation, hitting the airwaves day after day with depressing stories about how bad the entire economy is? Well guess what - the entire economy is not hurting. Some sectors (like Internet commerce and direct marketing) are actually thriving. Ditto for counter-cyclical businesses such as storage companies. These businesses aren’t letting cynical doom-and-gloom stories keep them down, and their examples are also a nod to the entrepreneurial spirit and risk-takers willing to help develop new industries. While no one should live under a rock, and hide from the media - it should not be the primary, driving force behind a dynamic business plan.
Failing to Adequately Plan
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It’s easy to scoff at planning, and point to all the pie-in-the-sky forecasts that sit on shelves without ever having a true impact on what the company does. However, planning is critical during a recession. Now more than ever, business owners should not be content to sit idly by and let the random gyrations of politics and markets happen against their will. Furthermore, most would agree that a recession would merit multiple plans - say, a best, worst, and likely-case scenario plan - that you can use in whichever case arises. The key is to plan in a rational way, without allowing planning to replace action.
Failing to Adapt
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History is filled with companies and even entire industries that failed to adapt. (The RIAA’s much-belated embrace of digital music sales is a recent example.) And, it’s only human nature to avoid change until it is absolutely necessary. But few things are more dangerous during recessions than clinging to the past. Chances are, the market most company’s routines and practices were forged in is much different than the market we find ourselves in today. The executive who refuses on principle to make any adjustments is courting disaster.
Ignoring Weaknesses
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A strong economy can disguise a company’s weak spots with the good news and high profits prosperity provides. But when a recession strips these things away, problem areas are exposed - to customers, employees and competitors. Business owners cannot control this, but they can control how to react . The recession can be perceived as an opportunity to address weaknesses that have long gone ignored. Businesses that take advantage of this time, and if they make the right moves, emerge stronger and less vulnerable than before.<
译文:
经济萧条期企业十二大忌
经济萧条有哪些主要特征呢？惊慌失措，绝望不已，抑或大惊小怪—总之，就是不能冷静的思考。在商业圈，这种情况更是如此。不幸的是，许多公司在此种情形下往往受制于市场，被动地采取行动，做出错误的决定，最终做出不必要的牺牲。因为在经济萧条期，真正好的策略让人觉得并不如人意。下面列举的是一些企业最常犯的类似这样的错误。从长远看来，这些错误往往使它们付出不必要的代价。
牺牲公司骨干员工以求节省开支
每个企业的首要任务是谋利。在经济萧条时期，利润下降而企业的经常费用及相关费用见长的情形是很少见的。因此，许多企业主管或者经理往往选择解雇他们薪酬最高的员工。虽然这种抉择可以缓解一时的预算问题，却带来了长期的更严重的问题隐患。缺失了最好的员工，一个企业想在经济萧条时期崛起会变得十分艰难，而其竞争力也会减弱。
抑制企业文化
凡是成功的企业经营者都知道仅仅靠遵循严格的管理制度是不能取得高的生产效率的。相反，高的生产效率源于不规则的，打破局限思维的决策。在这样的决策指挥下，员工们可以自由地选择工作方式，并用最佳的方式来工作。但不幸的是，经济萧条往往扼杀了这种企业文化。当意识到危机就在前头时，许多企业总管往往采取指挥控制的资本路线，因为这一路线让他们错误的以为自己掌握着公司的命运—这是一种旧的企业文化不可能给予的错觉。但是它的确只是一种错觉。简短地讲，在经济萧条时期，从来没有一个企业能靠变成类似车管局的机构而繁荣起来。
采取极端的风险规避措施
引起经济萧条的原因有很多，但是使经济萧条期延长的往往是人们的恐惧。（因此有种说法叫做“经济萧条源于人们的听闻”）。风险规避除了能从整体上死死地控制住经济，也会使企业处于不利地位。绝大多数的企业千万不要采取缄口不言或者保守防御状态，最好听信华伦·巴菲特的忠告：当其他人都恐惧的时候，我们要贪婪。尽力处理好自己的事情，评估可能遇到的风险，而不是完完全全地避开风险。
突然终止发展和扩大的计划
停止新产品的开发，干脆将注意力全部放到已经占领的市场上来仿佛是另外一个可以抵御经济萧条的好点子。但是，如果我们深入地来看看这以情形或者历史事例，会发现这一举措是多么的愚蠢。所有经济萧条时期存在一个共同点：它们总会结束。当经济萧条时期过去之后，在萧条时期便停止了新产品研发的企业将很难进军一个好的市场。此外，正如Code Synthesis软件开发公司的一篇文章里讲述的，在经济萧条时期扩展和开发新的产品有很多优势：
“随着办公空间需求的减缓，办公空间费用降低了。由于提供商和合作者变得更加依赖你的企业嗦带来的收入，你可以和他们更轻松地达成更好的交易。经济萧条期间，促进研发，创业，以及雇用新人的税收鼓励措施往往被引进来以振兴经济。
大幅度减少广告开支
对于在经济萧条时期削减广告开支，一代直销宗师佩里·马歇尔持有一种有意思的看法，“如果广告是企业招揽新顾客的途径，那么在经济萧条时期我们是不是该多在广告宣传上下点功夫？”但大多数企业并不这样做，这表明绝大多数的广告没有什么实效。全面减少广告开支，还不如试着减少那些在并没起多大作用的形象广告的花费。将注意力放到能使人们有所行动，并能取得实效的广告上来。
实行价格欺骗
同解雇薪水最高的职员类似，大幅降价只能解决一时的问题，同时给企业带来长远的更严重的不利影响。当然，如果销售量一直下降，最快捷的解决方法是降低销售价格。但这一举措同时也改变了消费者们对该企业的看法—企业甚至一不当心会使消费者形成这样一种条件反射：在下一次降价之前不买这个产品，将购买时期延迟到下一次降价的时候。这种情形会使企业处于没完没了的自我斗争当中—因为每一次销售量的上涨都伴随着日益微薄的利润。一种使企业打消降价的途径是将企业产品定位为具有实在价值和上乘质量的产品—而不是将其定位为企业的财政预算。
更换供应商以获得微小的结余
每个企业总管都知道供应商能成就一个公司，也可以毁了一个公司。供应商在企业的成功中扮演的角色不仅仅只包括他们提出的购买费用，还包括他们的可靠性，他们支不支持他们供应商品的对象等等。但不幸的是，这种价值往往是很难识别的，书面上也很难说明。除非新的供应商同原来的供应商一样可靠，一样有帮助，企业才能获得真正的结余。
收缩信贷限额或者信贷条件
理所当然，无论在经济萧条期间还是经济走势良好期，现金支付都是最受欢迎的一种方式。现金消费更方便，便于记载，最重要的是，这种方式很及时。有一种说法是这样的：愿意以信用卡来结账的消费者仍然是消费者。假如他们没有拖欠账款，也没有不付款的历史，将既定的买卖打发走是不划算的。另外，企业还应让消费者很把钱还给他们。决定消除或者减少信贷交易的决策需要反复考虑。
过度相信媒体
经济萧条期间，最受打击的是谁呢？记者？政客？唯一一点不足为奇的是，正是这些人日复一日地通过电波在全国各地散步消极悲观的、有关整个经济世界如何糟糕的令人沮丧的消息。你猜怎么着？实际上整体经济并没有遭受打击。有一些部门（比如互联网商务和直销行业）甚至还在不断发展壮大。类似这样的反周期企业还有存储公司。这些企业不会被这些让人觉得前景暗淡的消息所左右。他们这样做也是尊重他们的企业精神。企业的冒险者也愿意发展新的产业。任何人都不应该躲起来，不应该完全避开媒体的影响—但媒体的报道不该成为一项灵活的商业计划背后的主要动力。
计划做的不够周详
我们很容易轻视做计划，成天守着那些束之高阁、对公司并没有任何实际作用的不可实现的预言。但在经济萧条时期，做好计划是相当关键的。处于此种阶段，企业总管不能满足于漫不经心地坐在一旁，任由政治和市场的肆意妄为逆其道而行。此外，众所周知，经济萧条需要多种多样的计划来应对—比如说一个最好的，最坏的，最可能的场景计划—即出现任何状况时，我们都可以使用的计划。做好计划关键是要有条理，不要只做计划，不行动。
不能与时俱进
历史上有许多企业甚至整个行业无法适应环境而被淘汰的事例。（美国唱片业协会迟迟没有接触数码音乐产业而失败就是一个近期的例子。）虽然尽量避免变化，直到这一变化实在是迫在眉睫了是人的天性。另外，在经济萧条期仍与过去纠缠不清是最最危险的一种行为。很可能大多数公司推崇的例行公事和惯例与我们现在面对的市场根本不适应。凡是拒绝做出调整的企业主管将是企业的一大不幸。
忽视自身弱点
繁荣经济带来的好消息和高利润能够掩盖企业的许多弱点。但是当经济萧条将这一切正面消息都带走了，问题就暴露在消费者，员工以及竞争者的面前了。企业主管不能制止问题的暴露，但是他们可以把握做出怎样的反应。经济萧条时期可以作为一次解决长期被忽视的问题的机遇。能够把握住这种机遇，并做出正确举措的企业将会比以前更强大。