Wait 'Till the Sun Shines, Nellie
Everyone is doom and gloom about 2009. I have no doubt that it will be a tough year with shrinking revenues in our existing lines of business.
I've been there in 2002. For me, a crisis year is a year for ground work, for hard work in an environment of cut spendings. The goal is to build up new business that can blossom in the upturn. I feel confident in that because more than ever I am surrounded by people determined to build substantial business this year.
In the region I come from, Südtirol, there is a story about a castle called Greifenstein that was belaguered in the 1400 by the armies of Duke Frederick IV of Austria, also called Frederick of the Empty Pockets (no kidding). The siege went on for weeks and the food reserves of the castle's inhabitants were thinning. When they had almost nothing left to eat, the lord of the castle came up with an idea: he instructed his people to throw the last fat pig over the walls of the castle. Thinking that the castle's food supplies must be unlimited, Duke Frederick gave up and withdrew his forces.
Not reckless spending - but if you have been feeding a special reserve pig, this year is the time to throw it out!
