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Without a doubt, we have our work cut out for us this year, but really nothing we haven’t seen before. Doing more with fewer resources, managing change at every level, staying close to our customers, finding new opportunities for business growth and development, and covering rising costs are all familiar refrains. While the intensity of these challenges may be stronger than in the past, I believe we’ve trained for these challenges and know how to face them.

In good times, it’s relatively easy for organizations and individuals to grow and flourish. It’s the tough times that really show us what we’re made of! Like athletes who train every day to build the mindset, muscle, skill and endurance that will support them in facing career defining moments, as successful business professionals we are also ready to face the current challenges with the knowledge and skills that we’ve honed over our careers.

The fundamental business strategy of being customer focused in our business practices and decision making is more important than ever.   [ Note: Which is why Sales and Operations  Planning (S&OP) has moved to the forefront]  We all recognize that we’re here to serve our customers and meet their needs. Yet it’s easy to get away from that fundamental principle especially when we’re under pressure to meet short term financial targets. Over time we lose touch with what our customers need and want from us unless we take the time to really listen to them. Our colleague, Linda Sharp, will offer some practical tips for conducting in-depth conversations with customers that uncover not only what customers want but generate even more profitable insights by finding out why they want it.

Speak the truth. Tell it like it is-no posturing, no pretense or spin doctoring. Let others know what we need, what we see, what we care about. But let’s try to avoid fear based language. Instead, let’s focus our attention on what we want to create rather than on what’s missing. We can be both positive in our messaging and truthful. Let’s try to leave everyone feeling a bit better and stronger as a result of working with us.

Focus on helping others succeed. Zig Ziglar once said, “We can all have what we want in life as long as we make sure others are also getting what they want.” The recent economic changes have clearly demonstrated our interconnectedness. We all got here together and we will emerge by working together and supporting each other.

Be the leaders we want to see in the world. Strong leadership is needed everywhere at every level, now more than ever. Skillful leaders focus on abundance, prosperity and positive action rather than on scarcity, deficits and negativity. All of us can commit to taking our leadership game to the next level by building and sustaining healthy working relationships, communicating more effectively, especially under pressure, and inspiring others to be their best.