Relationships and a Down Economy

Kimball Kjar
Venator Ventures
Managing Principal Recruiter

I will be brief with this entry, since the last two have be a bit laborious to read. But I think it needs saying, and please don't excuse how important I believe in this subject by my brevity, that relationships determine how a person or company will make it through this recession.

It's not just a strong marketing plan or strong sales results, but it's relationships with the colleagues that you work with and those people that that are your clients that will lead to success in times such as these.

Firstly, I said the "R" word a paragraph above, so there it is. Now you can either cringe and shrink like some or stand up to the situation at hand and face the oncoming months of bad news and struggle with optimism and resolve. But no matter your reaction the key to not only survive, but thrive, in a down economy I believe is how you treat other people and companies that you work with.

My colleague and I, Justen Nadauld, will be traveling next week to visit in person with a number of our clients. We like to do this often, but we recognized that these face to face sessions are even more critical in tough economic times.

And it's our hope that such "non-sales calls" will show that we value their business and that they will value the services we provide. So as a result when the wallets get thin but they need to hire a person they will look to us first, because they know we are going to provide value and more importantly be there for them no matter what.

And who knows, if the relationship is strong it might be us calling on them when things are tight because we know that they can be there for us conversely.

Franklin D. Roosevelt, who himself saw one of this country's worst economic periods, said:

"Today we are faced with the preeminent fact that, if civilization is to survive, we must cultivate the science of human relationships - the ability of all peoples, of all kinds, to live together, in the same world, at peace.”

Roosevelt knew that when trouble knocks on your door, it's nice to know that there is someone else besides yourself supporting you.

I won't get analytical in regards to this assumption, but in any form of human relationship, and business falls within this genus, people are more likely to overcome challenges together than by themselves.

So in other words, if things are getting dicey for you and your company right now and you see the dark clouds of the economy starting to form over your head, you need to connect with others who can help you so as to not leave yourself out in the storm that is gathering above you.

Roosevelt also left us with another famous quote at his innauguration that implies strong human connections in times of trouble: "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

Don't fear the world around you and don't fear standing strong as the economic storms rage around you because you have others there standing with you and around you. That's what friends do in life and in business and if your business is to succeed in spite of your respective set of circumstances, then I suggest you surround yourself with people that support you and your efforts.

I know this is a pretty generalized thought and somewhat altruistis without more academic support, but let me again say that I felt it was worth mentioning especially since we're coming to visit with a number of the people we do business with. We want them to know that we're here for them and we hope that they will feel likewise.

Looking forward to seeing many of you in the coming days.