Seeing the Forest Through the (Ginkgo) Trees

摘要

Business runs in cycles-this we know. For the last 50 years, the typical cycle has lasted around 10 years-five to seven years up, two to three years down. During the downturn, it's difficult to see the coming upswing, far too easy to remain fixated on surviving until the upswing, and tempting to play Chicken Little and run around saying that the sky is still falling. Sure it's tough out there, but the upturn is coming. And smart metalformers are preparing for it. Such was the gist of a talk I heard in early March by Glynn Fletcher, president of Agie Ltd., at the firm's Media Day marking the inauguration of its new headquarters facility in Lincolnshire, IL. Among the doom and gloom that many in our industry face, I found Mr. Fletcher's remarks, under the title "Preparing for the Upturn," a fresh and uplifting reminder to look and plan ahead. The strong will survive, but careful planning for the early onset of a turnaround will help ensure that those survivors will be prepared to seize the opportunities a turnaround presents.