Have you ever ridden the Loch Ness Monster at Busch Gardens in Virginia?
According to UltimateRollercoaster.com, it was the world's first roller-coaster with interlocking loops spanning 3,240 feet. Imagine the thrill of being pulled up “13 stories into the air with a 114-foot drop. This “creature” offers a spine-tingling, breathtaking ride at speeds up to 60 mph.” You go through two “inversions” and pull a G-force of 3.5 Gs.
I have ridden that roller coaster numerous times with my three boys, yet every time I stand in line for that ride, I still feel the fear and excitement, the anticipation of another wild ride.
That is the best way to describe how I feel now about the economy for the foreseeable future — excitement and fear. Turns out that Ernst & Young coined this phrase in its report, Business Redefined: A look at the global trends that are changing the world of business, in which they said this: “Thus, against a background of economic growth,a series of dips will be superimposed on a slow underlying recovery — that is, a Loch Ness Monster recession.” Welcome to the new normal!
Then I found a study by IBM's Global Business Services titled, Succeeding in the New Economic Environment, in which they studied early winners since the turbulence began in 2007 and 2008. What they discovered, I believe, can help all of us as we continue to ride this “Loch Ness Monster” economy.
Here are the top three ways to succeed in the “new normal”:
- They focused on value: Across the board, these companies did more with less, focused on their core offerings and had a comprehensive understanding of the needs and wants of their customers.
- They exploited available opportunities: Winners captured share by taking advantage of weakened competitors, acquiring bargain-priced assets and focusing on growth markets. They invested in innovation and built future capabilities. And they changed their businesses through understanding their place in the new economic order, pioneering new approaches and partnerships, and taking advantage of new revenue models.
- Winners acted with speed: They managed change, empowered their leaders, reduced risk and increased transparency.”
I encourage you to read the full report here.
Here is an mindmap I created (using MindManager) of the key points from the study. It makes a good framework to check yourself against. You can download the mindmap here.
