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O P I N I O N
L ast week, June Jewell outlined five ways to insulate your firm from the worst elements of an economic downturn. This week, she provides another five things a firm can do to prepare for a slump, one that is sure to come at some point in the future. Strategies to survive the next recession If firms employ these operational and financial strategies, their chances of weathering a downturn, regardless of how bad it is, will increase.
June Jewell
this advice is to ensure that you continue to invest in areas of the business that will give you leverage and improve project performance. 3)Focus on client relationships. Your existing cli- ents are your source of future success yet not all clients are created equal. Make sure you are focusing on those clients that provide the most profit and growth potential for your company. Many firms “Unless you are constantly improving how you manage your business, you are falling further behind and will experience waste.”
1)Improve business management processes. Many firms are still doing things the way that they have been done for years. Unless you are constantly improving how you manage your business, you are falling further behind and will experience waste. Inefficiency comes in many flavors including redun- dancy, non-integrated systems, spreadsheets, and inconsistency between offices and teams. A business management assessment is a great first step to un- derstanding weaknesses in business operations and provide a clear path for improving. 2)Operate as if the recession has already hap- pened. Many firms wait until it is too late to make the needed changes to their spending, hiring, and investing practices. By operating as if work is hard to get you will position your business for more fiscal re- sponsibility and lean operations. The only caveat to
See JUNE JEWELL, page 8
THE ZWEIG LETTER January 23, 2017, ISSUE 1184
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