What do you say to owners in bad economic times?

My first impulse, to say my comments might be the same whether the strategy was to grow or to liquidate, does not survive analysis.

Generally I can help business owners because they are stuck, they have problems they are ignoring, and they are not communicating. Sometimes they have not identified the true “stakeholders” affected by decisions. Sometimes they are relying on intuition and their own decision-making when they need to be polling an informed group of independent people before making a decision. Most of the time they have not prioritized planning as a scheduled activity. Frequently, if they do plan, the plan is not documented, implemented and reviewed. Yet, I do think the subject does make a difference.

When the economic circumstance is depressing, it is that much harder to plan. The factor of denial is enhanced. Communication is more difficult. There is a tendency not to engage in long-term planning and enter crisis mode. The risks of bad decision-making increase. Perhaps the best thing to say is start planning whether the economy is good or bad. If you can do it in bad times, it will be that much easier in good times.