Recession Successes

It’s always difficult to keep an upbeat view during hard times, and to remember that there are always opportunities for those who look close enough. Still, without those doggedly incurable optimists, we would still be plodding along without the benefits of some iconic inventions.

A list of Recession Inventions: Success Stories in Bad Times, was posted last Monday on mainstreet.com.

Chocolate Chip Cookies — 1930
Fortune magazine — 1930
Basketball — 1891
Miracle Whip — premiered nationally 1933
Monopoly board game — the early 1930s
Transparent adhesive tape — 1930
Coors Brewery — opened 1873
iPod — 2001
Ketchup — 1876
Compact fluorescent light bulbs — 1970s
Twinkies — 1930
Photocopiers — 1937
Diet Coke — 1982

The LA Times posted a similarly-themed list in their Some inventions born amid recession recently. So did ABC News Eureka! Recession Sparks Inventive Spirit while this BusinessWeek article, 20 Most Import Inventions of the Next 10 Years looks at Innovation from Recession.

So even in a bear market, grab the bull by the horns and pursue your dreams of innovation.

Steve Lange
Palo Alto Software

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Posted on October 7th, 2009 | No Comments »

Planning in times of uncertainty

Regardless of whether you are based in San Francisco, California or London, England, we all agree that recent months have been pretty unstable from an economic perspective. What should one do with all of the business uncertainty we now face? As these two articles by Alan Gleeson of Palo Alto Software Ltd, U.K. describe, it is not a time to “batten down the hatches”. Instead Alan describes a number of solutions to help you manage your business through these times of unprecedented business uncertainty.

In Planning in times of Extreme Turbulence he suggests that managers revisit their business plans, undertake some scenario planning and also that they look for new opportunities as competitors scale back!

In his article, Steps to Recession-Proof your business plan he describes how it is important to assess your own businesses vulnerabilities as well as ensuring that all aspects of your credit control system are functioning effectively.

As he concludes:

“The increased uncertainty in our environment means that planning for the future has become more difficult. However, it is how we deal with this extra risk that will determine how our businesses fare over the coming months and years.”

Tim Berry
Founder and President
Palo Alto Software

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Posted on September 25th, 2008 | No Comments »