Bryan Stolle from Mohr Davidow offers a 10-step toolkit on Sandhill.com for software and tech companies in these difficult times. I've seen too many "conserve cash" posts, which is fine short term, but they ignore that hiding under a rock is not an effective long-term strategy -- understanding your customers' new needs and responding to them effectively is. I like that he sees value in bringing in experts who can shift the current thinking, shake up the status quo and discover a new way of doing things:
8. Rethink assumptions. Realizing success with a new executive
is just one example of how companies can extract themselves from a rut
they may have fallen into. The downturn is a great opportunity to
rethink how the company operates, builds, sells, markets and grows.
Whether from a new leader, a different industry, an outside perspective
or an inside domain expert, a new approach can often reenergize a so-so
situation, uncover unproductive processes or approaches, or find a
completely different (and more cost effective way) to do things."
He also puts much more executive attention on sales and increasing marketing -- counterintuitively -- which are good ideas worth checking out.
Each company is different, in different markets, competitive situations - there is no one size that fits all.
