2 Strategies To Reduce The Impact of Economic News on Business Decisions

The Dow Jones Industrials Average is down again.  Gas prices are up.  Unemployment is well above expectations yet again this month and layoffs keep coming.  It’s a wonder anyone can sleep.  And, the bad news keeps coming. 

How should we as business owners react?   The more alarming question is to ask how the bad news is impacting decisions that employees are making in your organization on your behalf.  There are many things you could do, but here are 2 high priority organizational behavior strategies to reduce the impact of bad economic news on employees and the business decisions that they are making on behalf of your company.

Expect The Economy To Get Really Bad

This is not just a psychological exercise to reduce stress.  Instead, if you really expect the economy to get really bad, then establish a plan for how you will react and the steps you will take as the economy gets worse.  Then, the news you hear daily simply reinforces the premise and the plan you’ve had all along.  Otherwise, this is a vicious downward cycle.  Break your own downward cycle and help your employees do the same.
 
When confronted with fearful news and/or events, the human brain may kick in the basal instincts of FIGHT or FLIGHT responses.  When that happens, the ability to reason and calculate a response is gone.  The FIGHT or FLIGHT response takes over and every piece of bad news just makes it worse.

Expect the economy to get really bad and, at some point, you’ll be wrong when things actually start getting better.

Resist Short Term Thinking

In short, don’t overreact.  While you may be faced with some really difficult decisions because economic conditions have changed the rules of your game, don’t think only short-term. 

For example, instead of laying off your customer service people, can they, for a period of time, be offered to your larger customers whom they serve every day?  Large companies may be laying off permanent employees, but they may welcome your already trained people under a contract arrangement.

Resist short term thinking and look for opportunities to preserve and proactively build your business.

In summary, apply these two strategies and you’ll achieve better results than would otherwise be possible in this economic recession.

Use the Recession to Improve Your Business Results

Use our current economic downturn to challenge the “It Can’t Be Dones.”  Based on the last sentence, I’ll bet you already have a picture in your mind of one of your employees who frequently says that it can’t be done.  The “It Can’t Be Dones” are the unwritten “rules” that drive your organization.  It takes five days to ship an order.  We’re not set up to do big jobs.  We have to follow the ten step project management process.  Our management meeting is always four hours.  That machine can’t be operated by less than three people.

Now is the time.  Go challenge every “It Can’t Be Done” and every unwritten rule that operates in your organization without your permission.  Use the economy as an excuse to improve productivity.