A Time When Winners Shine

By Barry Hinckley, Bullhorn

Spring, Summer, Fall, WinterÖthese are the seasons of life and of course economic cycles. If you think back to late 2007 and early 2008, the early indications of an economic ìFallî were beginning to show. Itís obvious now we are in the ìWinterî term of this economic cycle and the question people are asking is, how long will it last? Well Iíll ask you another question, what will you do during this economic Winter to make sure when Spring comes, you are out in front and ready to enjoy a lovely economic Summer while your competition is just staggering out of the cave from a long hibernation?

As a history buff, I cling to stories of excellence and in particular, human excellence in the face of adversity. I hold true the old axiom that of course a ìrising tide lifts all boats,î (read economic Summer) and more importantly, fortunes are made during economic downturns (economic Winter). Letís face it, many companies did very well in the last Spring / Summer economic cycle and to balance that, there is a lot of opportunity now. Things are cheaper, good people are easier to hire at more affordable wages, deals abound whether itís real estate or capital expenditures, everyone is willing to make a deal.

So really as a professional leader in the recruiting industry you have two choices: Crawl into your cave and hibernate through this economic Winter or go hunting for the best people and best tools in preparation for the inevitable economic Spring that will follow this current down turn.

Iíve been traveling from the West coast of America back to Boston and then to London once a month, meeting with agency recruiting professionals and believe it or not many leaders are embracing these times and situating their companies for the recovery. The seasoned vets have seen this movie before and actually are excited about the opportunities to shed some dead weight (people and technology), pick up a few ìall-star playersî and invest in new technology for their business. My conversations with these leaders of course tend to be around new front office software. When times were really good, the need for competitive front office tools didnít seem as great and of course folks were distracted with the onslaught of job orders. Times have changed and itís actually much easier for a company to focus on new system integration, now that the pace has slowed. Managers and employees have time to focus on the improvements and in fact in most cases itís proven to be morale boost for the company that the owners have decided to invest in their continued success during difficult times.

I just wrapped up three days at Bullhorn Live and the theme was the exact same: improve my business now and prepare for the recovery when there will be less competition. So my words to you are, take advantage of this economic winter, get the right people in the right seats on the bus, invest in your business when you can lock in long term discounts that will pay dividends for years to come and be ready for SpringÖitís coming.