A Recession Is Coming. Future-Proof Your Business Now
Enthusiastic office professionals place sticky notes on a glass wall in conference room.
By Lisa Bodell for Forbes
This week, Europe’s Central Bank not only raised interest rates by 75 basis points, but signaled that additional hikes are likely in the coming months. The Fed raised rates by 0.75 percentage points as home prices continue to fall, along with stocks and bonds. As signs of economic turmoil continue to mount, it’s essential that leaders make moves now to survive this uncertain market.
As a futurist who's helped organizations like Google, HBO and Pfizer plan a few decades out, I recommend a technique called Kill the Company for times like these. It’s an offensive strategy (and leadership book) used by forward-thinking companies to prepare for downturns, market volatility and other disruptions.
A Texan city council has used it to prepare for worst-case scenarios. An American mining company has utilized it to identify market threats and bullet-proof its competitive strategy. When a premium cable company introduced it, leaders generated three pages of weaknesses — and six pages of counter measures.
In your own company, invite people from all levels to a remote, in-person or hybrid session. Present this challenge to the group: “In the event of a recession, what scenarios could put us out of business in 12 months?” By reversing the usual question — “how can we beat the competition?" — you’re giving your employees, the people with insider knowledge of your business, permission to identify its weak spots.