What model year is your business?
Wouldn’t it be something if the auto industry stopped bringing forward innovations and that the 2012 models was really only a 2008 model with a new paint job. How would that compare to the 2012 model that kept up with the ever-changing needs of their clients? As a consumer, it would be a no-brainer which I would prefer.
Are you and your firm going to be the 2008 model or the real 2012 model when the economy turns around? Is your 2008 model really a 2008 or some previous year?
I have seen many firms not just freezing in 2008-mode, but regressing to former or bare-bones operational practices for fear of spending money that they cannot immediately recoup. Nowhere is this more apparent than in strategic planning and market growth strategies, where those staff dollars aren’t billable. After all, if there are no clients, why invest the time and energy? I would say that now is the most important time for companies to lay the groundwork that will position them to explode out of the gate in 2012 rather than scrambling to catch up with their more savvy competitors.