One of the most damaging features of this recession is not so obvious. It is the drift to short term horizons. Because confidence has taken a knocking, because we are no longer as certain as we were about what the future will look like, then we take comfort in short-term decisions.
I think this can become a form of denial. We take comfort in the month-to-month perspective, because looking longer term can be too scary. The result is often short-term and short-sighted decision-making.
Recently a client told me,
"We are not going to make the mistake we made seven years ago. Then we hit hard times and stopped all investment in training. We regretted it three years later."
This is visionary thinking. It transcends a recessionary period.
The ability of this organisation to learn lessons such as this from the past is rare. This organisation, partly because of this ability to reflect and learn from its history, has become a market leader.
So how short term is your thinking? Are you willing to plan for, invest in, the future beyond recession? If not, what will you have in place when the tide turns?
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