The Big 5 Opportunities of This Down Cycle

Hi Rajesh,

Ok. We're in some challenging times. Economies are shifting. Businesses are reconfiguring. And deep uncertainty dominates many peoples' mindsets. But smart leaders get that crisis breeds opportunity. And so they train their brains to focus on nothing else.

Here are 5 of the NBO's (Nice Big Opportunities)

1. It has never been easier to stand out. Everyone is negative. Customer service is being pulled back. Innovation is shutting down. So, great rewards will come to you as you stay positive, client-centered and wildly creative.

2. It has never been so easy to retain and secure superb talent. A great team of spirited people can achieve extraordinary results. Now is a fine time to build that team.

3. This down cycle is an excellent time to open up new markets. Not every region is in a recession so now might be the perfect time to expand into an emerging economy.

4. With all the turmoil, this is an opportunity to get back to the fundamentals. Create strong value for your stakeholders. Build a business based on integrity. Renew deep family relationships. Savor life's simpler pleasures.

5. This is a fantastic time invest in your learning. Learning boosts passion and engagement. In the up-cycle, you may have been running so fast you made zero time to invest in yourself. Yet, to be a better leader, become a bigger person.

In Leadership,

Robin

Monthly Book Excerpt: The Greatness Guide Book 2

From The Greatness Guide Book 2 (p. 188): Your Highest Freedom

One of my favorite books is Man's Search for Meaning, written by Viktor Frankl, an Austrian psychotherapist who survived confinement in Nazi concentration camps. So many of those around him perished. They lost hope. They fell into despair, then death. He managed to get through the ordeal by applying what I believe is our highest human freedom: our ability to choose how we respond to and process any event that happens to us. We can look for some good or we can become haunted by the bad. Frankl writes, "Everything can be taken from a man but one thing, the last of the human freedoms to choose one's attitude to a given set of circumstances, to choose one's way." Such a magnificent thought.

Monthly Big Ideas on Leadership

"Experience is what we attend to."

Famed psychologist William James

"When the tide comes in you get to see who's been swimming naked."

Warren Buffet

"Shift from stagnation to innovation and you can't help but lead."

Robin Sharma

THINGS The Best Leaders Remember

1. Make daily time for deep reflection. No point in being strikingly busy around the wrong things.

2. Business is about people. Grow your team. Have shared experiences. Foster laughter and high spirit. A small group of devoted people can move mountains.

3. Honor wins. Really easy to go for the fast dollar and the easy opportunity in these uncertain times. Yet, the best leaders and business stay true to themselves. They get closer to their mission and values in hard times. They prefer to focus on what's the right thing to do versus what's the easy thing to do. And that makes them last long after the recession ends.

4. Do the unexpected. The marketplace rewards fresh value. Blaze a path that no one's blazed. Think thoughts no one's thought. Originality matters.