Stemming the crisis

It is no surprise to anyone that the companies are facing fragile times. The crisis is shaking their structures and businesses, leaving their weaknesses more exposed. Warren Buffett, investor and philanthroper, made a statement that adequately translates these times: “It's only when the tide goes out that you learn who's been swimming naked".

The current scenario is disturbing. We all feel the consequences of this crisis in our daily lives, money has become scarce and the financial institutions face investment risks with serious concern. The crisis is affecting the economy; less richness is being produced, thus there is less richness to be distributed.

However, we must not give up the fight, as this will not lead us to the way out of our problems. How, then, can we weather the crisis? Which is the way forward for the companies? The idea is quite simple: Face the current context as an opportunity, by drawing on some tools.

In order to withstand the crisis, the companies must resort to INNOVATION and EMOTION. Innovation may lead us through these difficult times. It is crucial, now more than ever. In a crisis as the current one, doing what everybody does would be a poor idea. But wouldn’t it be safer to remain within our comfort zone, instead of taking risks and innovating? This would indeed be a pitfall. Crisis, like the one we are going through, shows that we have to do things differently, otherwise, sooner or later, we will lose the battle for growth.

Another positive strategy to cope with the crisis is to put the stakes on our clients and consumers, foster a close relation with them and captivate them with our products. And the leaders also have to be appealing. They should be a combination: A leader must be tough, cut costs and take critical decisions. However, a leader must also be emotional and, more than ever, able to understand consumers, motivate the staff and anticipate trends.

Now going back to the business itself, in this difficult context with a mature and nearly exhausted market, EXPORTING appears as the only possibility to promote company growth. At a time when the national crisis weighs heavily on the figures of the national companies, exporting is a business opportunity that will enable the companies to deal with the crisis. With a weakened internal market, Portuguese companies must seek to work the traditional markets better, while at the same time invest in new markets and in exports.

Get into new markets. It is on this that the growth strategy hinges and that will enable many companies to rise above the crisis.

It will be achieved through economic growth and not just through austerity.

My recipe to weather the crisis involves all this, based on yet another big pillar: WORK, because without work nothing will be achieved.