Do you have a 'systemic failure' in your business?

Well, for the last several columns, I have been giving hints and suggestions about how you can look at your business in a different way and get ready for uncertain times. I certainly didn't want to be the first one to utter the dreaded “R” word — recession. However, I see by the newscasts and my morning papers now that some powerful brains at some universities and politicians have announced that we are, officially, in recession.

How lucky we are! Sort of reminds me of the old joke of a doctor who was so well educated that he declared a woman was pregnant 15 minutes after she gave birth.

Throughout all that has happened over the past several weeks, there are a few things the politicians have done I am impressed with. After going through the spring and summer months artfully dodging that the economy had problems and expressing hope that things would be OK, there was an abrupt change in mindset to not only admitting that there was a problem, but that it had to be dealt with swiftly and with drastic measures.

Regardless of how you feel about the specific actions that have been taken by U.S. and world leaders to confront this crisis, there are lessons to be learned from how the crisis has been handled.

Let's apply those lessons to all of our businesses so we can better handle what is happening and what is yet to come.

First, these times will require all of us to be more honest with ourselves about our businesses than we might ever have been in the past. Deep down in your hearts and minds, where you hide your worst fears, I know that you know where your weaknesses are. I've seen it in my own thoughts over the years about my businesses, and as I have worked with clients as a consultant, I have always found that the toughest part of my job is to get the client to the level where they can simply admit they have a problem.

This is what is currently being defined in today's world as a “systemic failure.” Do you have a systemic failure in your business? Are you fixing problems, only to find out that they are only minor fixes that will yield you minor results? Are you treating the symptoms instead of the disease? If all of your quick fixes work to perfection, will it move the needle on your performance in a significant way? I ask these tough questions because most businesses that fail do so because they convince themselves their problems can just be tweaked, when in fact, their business models really need to be blown up and restarted.

What's the second thing we should learn from world leaders today?

When you realize and admit that your problems are serious enough to possibly destroy your way of life, you cannot under-react. You must make decisions that will have significant affect in order to produce significant results. Small risks equal small gains. Big risks equal big gains.

And what is the third lesson? When faced with serious circumstances, it is impossible to move too quickly. Make your decisions. Implement the changes. Watch carefully. Repeat what you just read if you're not getting the desired results.

Finally, always remember everything will pass and everything will be OK again. This country and this capitalist society have weathered world wars, a depression far worse than this recession, devastating health issues such as AIDS, rampant drug use and abuse in the '60s that changed everything, and on and on and on.

America is still standing, and America will be OK. As a country, as an industry and as individual businesses, most of us are good enough to overcome this.

I suspect that most of you that read this column are in leadership positions in the industry. But aren't we all leaders? My last word of advice for you today? Lead! That's right, I said lead! This is no time for weakness at the top. And, this is no time for leadership by committee. Someone has to be out front leading the charge. Someone has to relentlessly preach a message of hope and that everything will be OK.

That someone would be you.