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While this recession may indeed be different, the principles that will enable executives to survive - the principles of sound management - are the same ones that executives applied to ride out the previous recession and others before it.
As this recession persists, executives should brace for a deluge of articles telling them about managing in the new reality. They should take it all with a grain of salt. Realities come and go but the principles of running a good business are timeless.
The same principles apply regardless of wherever you are in the business cycle, which is not to say that the emphasis does not change. A one-liner on investing I have always liked runs the four most dangerous words of advice are "This time is different." It is as applicable to running a business as investing money.
The principles of running a good business are easily stated in one paragraph: ethics; clear goals; take care of the customer; take care of the employee; product quality and service; innovation; cost control; productivity; sound finance; manage the risk agenda; nimble and flexible; decision-making for the long term; deal with problems; avoid denial; prudence; patience, tone at the top; keep ego out of it; treat everybody the way you want to be treated; beat the competition.
I have watched management thinking careen through flavours of the day like management by objectives, management by exception, decentralization, Theory X, Theory Y, six sigma, total quality management, reengineering, outsourcing and a gem I especially like, management by walking around. But these principles are about it! Would they were as easily executed from day to day as stated!
When the smoke clears, this recession will be ranked as one of the worst since the second war. There is just too little confidence, too much fear, too much downward momentum, too few savings, too much market volatility, too many international imbalances, too much debt, too little credit, too much lost wealth, too much policy uncertainty and too many countries involved for this to be a quick return to business as usual. The principles of...