First post – Welcome to Recessioneering!

This blog is dedicated to the principle that “hunkering down” – slashing expenses and deferring new initiatives – is an insufficient response to a long and deep recession. Facing the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, we’re in a period of Darwinian proportions that strongly favors those who can adapt most quickly and successfully.

I picked the name “Recessioneering” to signal my conviction that there are effective practices that can be applied whenever an enterprise – business or non-profit – strives to adapt and grow even when markets are distressed and resources are modest. These practices have been the focus of my practice for over ten years and I’ll be discussing them in future posts.Here then are my goals for this blog:

• To provide an accessible and valuable resource for processing this crisis and repairing, renewing, or reinventing your enterprise.
• To share successful strategies and techniques collected from practitioners, experts, and news sources.
• To shine a light on new business opportunities, whether they are recession-induced or otherwise.
• To focus strictly on information and methods relevant to the smaller enterprises that make up half our economy but are largely ignored by traditional media.

I have been in and around business strategy for over 30 years (bio) and I’ve experienced my share of recessions: Entered the workforce in 1974 during the throes of a recession triggered by the OPEC oil embargo. Worked with businesses and developers during the Carter/Reagan recessions. Scrambled through the aftermath of Black Monday (1987), the largest one-day percentage decline (22.6%) in stock market history, while leading a high-rise office development as the market imploded. In 1989, I became the Marketing VP at Boston’s Beacon Construction (now part of Skanska) and learned a ton about recession strategy while playing a key role in stabilizing and growing one of Boston’s leading construction management firms.

To learn about programs and services to help your organization navigate the road ahead, please visit Dave Lash & Company and contact us via email or at 978-468-6633.

Thanks for visiting Recessioneering and I wish you every success in meeting the challenges of 2009.

Topics: Hunkering down