Successful Change Means Survival

New strategies should focus on innovation, productivity and risk management

November 11, 2009 By Paul Sabbah

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Do you have any change?

Back in the Great Depression that phrase had great significance. With unemployment at 20 percent and higher, a few cents meant the difference between eating that night or going hungry.

The people that you meet today who lived through the Depression can you tell you all about that. They seem permanently affected by that time period; scarred in some way.   They are more conscious of waste, less likely to be extravagant and often puzzled when the younger generation throws money around. They seem to keep cars longer and show more interest in maintaining what is old rather than building something new. Depression-era people were actually changed personally by the width and breadth of the downturn.

Today, change is the order of the day for businesses all across the country. A business' successful adaptation to change can mean that its employees put food on the table. In good times, businesses could be stagnant, stubbornly refusing to change or adapt to market conditions. But in tough economic times, markets are cruel and unforgiving, and those businesses that don't embrace change often suffer. So the Depression-era mentality of maintaining what is old might actually be counterproductive in today's economy: today we just might need to tear things down and rebuild them for a new paradigm.

Case in point: This year might always be remembered as the year we lost Circuit City. The company was founded in 1947 and, near its demise, included more than 560 stores. The departure of Circuit permanently altered the retail landscape for many manufacturers. But tearing down an iconic brand says as much about our evolving economy as it does about the management of one company. It should also be noted this came at a time in which change in the retail landscape has become the norm.

So, in the Great Recession of 2009, do you have any change?

If you have reached the end of this year and can still cover your costs, you probably adapted to the market conditions whether you realize it or not.   And you likely did this by some combination of these factors:

Innovation - It's not just about products; it's also about processes, marketing, financing and service.   Innovation is critical to an economy and to a business - we are all being forced to find a better way. As an industry, through CEA, we are calling on our government to recognize this and incentivize companies who embrace innovation.