Opportunity In The Current Economic Environment

Well, it's Monday morning and I'm doing my normal review of news and announcements. It's definitely a slower environment. There is a lot of talk about the economic slow down. Obviously, this is a self-perpetuating situation. As people hear more about a slowing economy, they become more cautious (if not downright nervous) and they develop a wait-and-see attitude towards their next strategic moves. (This seems to be happening in the Microsoft-Yahoo situation, but who really knows what Microsoft is doing or thinking.)

I wholeheartedly believe that times like these can present the greatest opportunities. Everyone broadens their vision and companies might be willing to listen to ideas that they would ignore in boom times. After all, when companies are making a ton of money with their current strategy, they aren't looking for new ideas. They are generally just focused on executing the strategy as well as possible to capitalize on the environment of success.

However, when things start to slow down, companies start reconsidering what other avenues might be open to them. They will re-examine their strategies and take the extra time to listen to some new ideas. This presents a great opportunity to creative companies to propose new relationships or deals that might not have been considered in a busier environment.

I encourage everyone to think outside the box, look for new ideas, look at new potential deal partners, and don't be afraid to communicate and consider. It is in times like these that the deck gets reshuffled and you don't want to be left out of that mix by sitting on the sidelines. The decisions you make now will determine where you are situated when things heat up again.