If reading today's newspaper doesn't give you heart palpitations, listening to the financial news assures you of a headache -- or more.
Yes, the markets are contracting, credit is frozen and many businesses are fighting for their very lives. However, just surviving until things get better should not be the option you choose.
Of course, there are painful truths any time the status quo is interrupted -- and yes, there will be cost-cutting and repositioning or restructuring at every turn. But, as we move through the current crisis -- whether we realize it or not -- how we do business in the future is being reshaped and redefined.
For the past 10 years or more, we've seen consumer spending increase. However, now we don't know where the money for all this spending came from -- and we also don't know where it went.
What we do know is the average U.S. consumer carries a balance of around $10,000 on his/her credit cards and many individuals, companies and corporations -- have borrowed from Peter to pay Paul, as the saying goes. Until recently family savings averaged about zero and commercial lenders, such as banks handling mortgages, sold these loans to others who divided them up or bundled them and sold them again.
So what's next?
Very simply, we need to come up with innovative ways to create jobs. Companies in every sector must identify and employ innovative ideas to fuel growth and these same companies will be the leaders in funeral service for the future.
So, what does this mean to you, the individual funeral director or the owner of a funeral service firm?
It means this is no time to run for cover. This isn't the time to hunker down in your comfort zone -- to simply pass the crisis by marching in place.
No, this is the time to explore and expand. It's the time to look at the options that most appeal to your market area -- and then push out to explore other options from there. This also is the time to train your staff, to empower them to do what hasn't been done -- or, as the trekkies say, "To go where no one has gone before."
From a global perspective (as opposed to the perspective you may see daily from behind your desk), there is opportunity to be found in every sector of American business and the local economy. So, your first step is to look to your marketplace.
Look at the demographics? Are there mainly older Americans in your community? Then, explore what they may need at this point: Social Security information, planning for end-of-life issues, understanding about terms such as power of attorney, wills, Do Not Resussitate orders and more.
Once you've determined the needs of the community you serve, make yourself and your firm an informational resource. Partner with other professionals in your area (attorneys, insurance, physicians, etc.) and provide the needed information.
Also, because the current economic downturn has disrupted families, look for areas where people in your community may need help. This may include compiling a Rolodex of specialists who can help specialists in leasing and foreclosure, home health providers, community social services, faith-based services, Meals On Wheels and senior feeding centers.
Become a trusted member of your community's "safety net."
Government funding also represents opportunities. Many funeral service professionals across the country are working with their counties to reposition indigent burial services -- so that funeral service providers can receive more reasonable compensation.
Here's another insight into innovation in turbulent economic times. Recently, Amazon.com, AT&T, IBM, Microsoft, Cisco, and Google stepped up their efforts to meet the changing needs of certain sectors of their marketplace, even as they respond to revenue declines in traditional business sectors. Some, of course, are short-term opportunities, but being able to respond to the needs of others in your community's marketplace can build the foundation for longer-term relationships and, ultimately, shared economic growth.
Finally, you need the determination -- not just to survive the current economic chaos but to grow as an individual funeral director and as a profession.
Lou Gerstner, former CEO of IBM, offers an example of moving beyond mere survival as the economy was undergoing change. When he took the helm at IBM, he had to take $7 billion out of the company's cost structure in less than two years -- and he did this by finding the key areas of pain for his customers. Then, recognizing the opportunities, he set about, combining the many little pieces of his company into "One IBM" where processes were simplified and employees committed themselves to serving customers through One IBM. Now, IBM is not only surviving, it's thriving -- because of Gerstner's innovative insights, his strategy to look at his marketplace and then to identify opportunities. You can benefit from this same three-step plan and the commitment to innovate: