PERFECT STORM... OR IS IT?

Jeff Seeley
CEO
Carew International, Inc.

This weekend I happened to catch the movie “The Perfect Storm.” As I watched the trials and tribulations of Bill Tyne (George Clooney), it reminded me of the commentary I have heard over and over about the current economic issues being caused by a “perfect storm” of economic troubles, subprime mortgages, job loss, commercial lending, wall street greed, loss of manufacturing jobs (middle class), elimination of tradition economic supply and demand curves and on, and on, etc. etc. etc.

I started thinking… when there is a catastrophe, be it a real storm, economic or other, it is always billed as the “perfect storm.” Think about Hurricane Katrina and the levies that failed. It took the “perfect storm” to create the failure, as the levies had held through years of rain, storms etc., but none were evidently perfect until that fateful day. Now we have contingencies in place to create levies that are “perfect storm” proof… at least until the next unforeseen perfect storm.

Business is no different. We think we are living this perfect storm of business adversity. And it is that mentality which is part of the problem. The reality is we are in a storm, not unlike previous storms and future storms, more and less perfect.

When trouble occurs in our business or with our customers, it always feels like the perfect storm; whether it is a missed deadline or delivery, project delay, economic crisis, credit crunch or whatever it is in your world that caused failure. In reality it probably was not a “perfect storm” as much as opportunities lost by not having our best game employed. As the storm clouds gather, it is very easy to get caught in the perfect storm mentality, i.e., assume it is out of our control. When things are out of our control, we feel justified to take our effort out of play as well. It makes me consider how many times I have said “It is what it is,” as if to accept my fate.
“IT IS NOT WHAT IT IS”, it is “WHAT WE MAKE IT.”

“PERFECT STORM” indeed… as if there is this whirling, out of control force in the business world that rules us like the weather. There are no perfect storms. There are problems. Challenges arise for which we have no contingency plan. Our responsibility is to weather the storm, create a plan and execute the plan in a manner that meets and exceeds our customers’ expectations. These actions are how we earn our leadership position with our customers and how creativity is fostered.

The CNBC’s of the world can talk about perfect business storms. Successful businesses, sales professionals and enlightened leaders are putting products, new services, and investment in their people at the forefront of their strategies; not running for cover from the business storm of the century. Buckle up and lean into the vortex; you and your business might just experience growth.