Douglas Adams’ Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy starts with very simple advice – “Don’t Panic!” This is great advice anytime but is particularly relevant today. A single individual has been given the controls to much of the world’s economy and, without the dampening effects of consensus thinking, we are in for a rough time. It reminds me a bit of my (then) 6-year old sister driving our Morris Minor into the garage doors of our house in Scotland.
Competition. Prices will be unpredictably volatile for the foreseeable future. And as always, those who compete mainly on price, will have some big adjustments to make. Those who compete on value (service, quality, and experience) will be far better off. I have been assembling some Ikea furniture over the last few weeks and was pleased to see that they had added a pair of black plastic tweezers. The tweezers hold the nails that go into the back of the book cases – and align the nail with the board behind and stops you hitting your fingers with the hammer. A five-cent piece, but wow is it ever useful. What are you doing for your clients?
Renewal. Every few decades, fires roar through forests cleaning out the dead and dying trees. We now have a fire roaring through our economies. What are you doing to ensure survival? Are you still growing, innovating, and adapting? Nothing like a good fire to stimulate action. It’s time to root out the inefficiencies. When we again reach an equilibrium, you’ll come out much stronger.
Diversify. While we have many great friends and supporters in the US, we also have great friends all around the world. And with most of these countries, we have favourable trading relationships. It’s time to explore to diversify suppliers and customers.
Four More Years. Four years seems like an eternity, but it is surprising how quickly time passes when interesting things are happening – and the next four promise to be interesting.
But do not shrink back into defense. Stay on the front line. Push back.
Be vigilant, stay informed, read (and pay for) a wide range of professional news sources. Democracy is being threatened by right wing autocrats around the world. Their playbooks are effective and constantly improving. They dismantle our democratic structures brick by brick until nothing remains (read Nexus).
And remember, it’s not the people – it’s the politicians and their enablers. So:
Sorry for the rant. Let me know if this resonates.
Andrew
/kcl-goes-green/HeaderLogo-60x300-ID-e065fb7a-094d-4fc6-d8c1-f4f88e7523f5.png)