In a Bad Economy… Keep Training

Posted: Tuesday December 9, 2008 under Lead Teams

A few days ago, Inc. Magazine published some advice to company leaders from management guru Tom Peters. I reprint it here, along with the lead-in from Inc.

Among all management gurus, Tom Peters is most associated with managing during bad economic times. His “In Search of Excellence” was published amid the sharp recession of 1982, and “Thriving on Chaos” debuted on Black Monday in 1987. On TomPeters.com, he recently wrote about running a business in a time of “significant and sustained economic disarray.”

“Instant, mindless cutting of R&D or training or salesforce travel in the face of a downturn is often counterproductive – or, rather, downright stupid. Tough times are in fact golden opportunities to get the drop, and the longterm drop at that, on those who respond to bad news by panicky across-the-board slash and burn tactics and moves that de-motivate and alienate the workforce at exactly the wrong moment.”