I Kings 18: [43]  And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times. [44]  And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot , and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not.

ICorinthians 9 [26]  I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:

These scriptures help to transition to perhaps more down to earth concerns on how we can grow in a Recession from a business perspective and be positioned to be amongst the new winners.  I had devoted more attention in previous posts and my book WEALTH OUT OF ASHES, to the spiritual issues, because it is indeed the spiritual that drives everything else lest we gather our gains in a basket with holes.  This article is the first of seven posts focused primarily on important concepts that businesses growing in times of Recession have mastered.

Immediately, the recession was prophetically announced as over, Elijah commands the servant to go and see and look again even as He prayed.  Refreshing our vision is therefore the first activity because things are not as they used to be and there indeed may be some even permanent changes in the business landscape.  After refreshing our vision, we must execute actions, but not in  haphazard directions.  We need Strategy and Innovation to propel and constrain our actions to produce growth.  Growing businesses also adapt their functional systems to new realities. Let us examine each of these areas as depicted in the diagram summarised as follows:

Refreshing our vision implies the need to pause and relook several times to see the new emerging world and understand new areas of need and business opportunities to target innovation.  We need to refocus our efforts on our core business and rebuild long-term orientation with a new mission and objectives as well as set and share new long/ medium range goals and milestones.

Habakkuk 2[2]  And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. [3]  For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.

Strategy and Innovation is achieved by comprehensively reassessing what has changed in our market, customers, suppliers, inputs, competitors, regulation and consider where we now have new advantages or can innovate to build advantage.  Businesses grow when they master their market and competitive advantage and reposition to exploit these advantages to the fullest. High growth businesses also use flexible structures (instead of old hierarchies) to respond to a more dynamic business environment.

We need new approaches and disciplines.  High growth businesses adapt their systems especially in the areas of how they manage people, and account and manage money.  Businesses that grow despite the Recession invest in more marketing to remain visible when others are cutting down – as this conveys strength.  They use technology more boldly to drive innovation and maintain their competitive edge.  The next post will begin to provide more details.   For the full article you can click – DOWNLOAD ARTICLE.

More on God’s perspective on wealth can be found in my recently published book Wealth out of Ashes .

Bode Ososami