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Austerity Business

39 Tips for Doing More with Less

Alex Pratt

Wiley, 2010

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Business always has run in cycles, from exhilarating highs to devastating lows. Monetary tremors typically register somewhere in the middle range, but every so often, tectonic financial plates shift worldwide, creating permanent change. Scarcely any entity has emerged unscathed from the international economic crisis that began in 2008 and that continues to wreak havoc. Pretending that things will one day “return to normal” means denying reality, insists Alex Pratt, a veteran entrepreneur. He believes business must adopt a new philosophy in this “age of austerity,” when there’s less money, reduced workforces and smaller appetites for risk. He calls for businesses to return to the fundamentals: intelligent spending, informed decisions, smart staffing and first-rate customer service. Yes, current economic conditions have created hesitancy and insecurity, but now is your opportunity to formulate a strategy and execute an action plan that will help ensure your survival and, perhaps, lead to prosperity. Pratt’s “39 tips” occasionally overlap and intersect. But that quibble aside, getAbstract believes Pratt’s approach has utility and validity. Like it or not, austerity is here to stay. Get used to it.

Summary

A New Way of Doing Business

There’s no use looking wistfully through your rearview mirror – the global financial crisis that took hold in 2008 has created fundamental changes. The fall of giants such as Lehman Brothers represents the crumbling of corporate pillars once thought indestructible. The factors that traumatized the economy include skyrocketing personal and institutional debt, the mortgage meltdown, bankruptcies, foreclosures and unemployment.

Prosperity has given way to austerity. The old way of doing business no longer is viable. From the corporate CEO to the owner of the neighborhood grocery store, businesspeople have become more deliberate and conservative. Everyone scrutinizes the bottom line. Though economic recovery is likely, things never will return to the way they were, so smart businesspeople must recognize the opportunity to devise a new philosophy and embrace change.

A Mandate for Change

Most people fear change, especially when they’ve been operating a certain way for a long time. A big gap yawns between recognizing the need for change and actually executing it. During the era of prosperity, the focus was on growth and market dominance...

About the Author

Alex Pratt is an entrepreneur and director of Serious Brands in England. He has advised several governments on business, competition and innovation.

Austerity Business

39 Tips for Doing More with Less

Read Offline or Discuss

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Summary

A New Way of Doing Business

A Mandate for Change

About the Author

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