Newsletter January 2009
Back to Business
by John Stephens
Business never stops. Each and every one of us in the business world know that in today’s day and age, someone is always doing business, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Business never stops… But, sometimes business slows. Sometimes people just want to take it easy a little bit, or maybe there’s uncertainty ahead. The past few months or so have definitely been that way. Folks have been busy with holiday plans, parties, and vacations. There has also been plenty of uncertainty, including questions about an economic crisis, a new presidential administration, and even a local political scandal. So it’s hard to know in which direction to walk, much less run. It’s a scary world out there, and business has slowed. But, now with January drawing to a close, there are a number of reasons to get back to business.
One of the primary reasons to get back to business is the conclusion of the holiday season. Employees and employers alike were focused on holiday parties, Christmas concerts, and spending time with their families. But, with kids going back to school, all the parties being over, and even the holiday sales ended, it’s a perfect time to get everyone refocused around moving the business forward. Business needs people to execute the tasks that grow the business, and the people are now available, and generally speaking, ready to go. It’s time to tap that energy and push business forward.
Another reason it’s time to refocus on business is because it’s a new year. The old driedout budget has been filed away, and the fresh budget, complete with funds set aside to run operations and make those necessary capital investments, is now here. It’s time to invest in your business and fuel the machine that keeps us all going. If you think about it, we’re a third of the way through Q1, so time is already flying away from us. It’s time to catch up, take advantage of the new budget, and move business forward.
A third reason that it’s time to refocus on business is that the times just aren’t changing. At the end of 2008, there was a lot of talk about recession and whether we were in one or not. And then there were the elections. All told, that meant a lot of uncertainty about all kinds of things, financial, political, and more. But now, the elections are over, and our new leaders are in place. It’s finally official that yes, we are not just in a recession but have been in one since the end of 2007. We’re in the middle of a financial crisis of record proportions, and there is a lot of action designed to get us out of it including stimulus packages, bailout initiatives, and tax cuts. But, we can’t wait forever. Things aren’t going to change overnight, or even over a month or so. Business has to continue in the current environment, so it’s time to move forward despite the uncertainty.
And so, while we haven’t covered all the reasons, it seems clear that business must go on. The holidays and waning budgets of 2008 are gone. The elections are over, and it’s clear the economy isn’t a variable only of 2008—instead, it’s now part of the operating environment for today and for the future. There is still uncertainty concerning the economy, the housing market, and even banking. But these uncertainties will be with us for a while, so we have to keep moving even in the face of the unknown. If we stop—if business stops—it will fail. We have to keep moving forward. At Convergence, we’re ready to roll up our sleeves to face the challenges of the new year, and we’re ready to help our employers—you—as well. And so, that’s the message for this month’s article: it’s time to get back to business.
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