Getting ready to thrive when the turnaround comes

We need to keep our running shoes on to look for fresh cheese according to a national bestseller book. In "Who Moved My Cheese," Spencer Johnson tells us the tale of one mouse who spent his days complaining about how his pile of cheese was diminishing and stale. The other mouse used the same circumstances to motivate himself to find a fresh pile of cheese.

Determining which mouse you are will indicate if you are ready and willing to capitalize on the economic turnaround that is coming! Downturn economies always rebound and this one is no different.

Some "Running Shoe Principles" include

* Having absolute clarity of what a good pile of cheese smells like.

* Asking whether your employees are trained to smell opportunity.

* Determining if you want your mice to work with you to turn around business, or if you want them to just be good worker bees and do business the same old way.

Energetic, success-driven mice want to work for companies who speak more about looking for opportunity and less about the stinking pile of old cheese the current economy has given us.

We have a great gift in front of us. Most businesses are experiencing pain in slow cash flow, high overhead and low employee morale. You may say it is nuts to consider business pain as a gift.

Let us ask you one question. What else will shake us from our complacency to depend on a diminishing pile cheese?

Businesses that have made a commitment to thrive and not just survive will see greater gains when the economy turns around. We believe we can tip segments of business if we focus on looking for new

opportunities.

Bob Belknap and Norma Havens of the University of Street Smarts will speak at the Sparks Chamber of Commerce 9th Annual Business Forum on Wednesday. Contact them at info@universityofstreetsmarts.com.