Boston Consulting Group is just one of the voices we’ve heard recently warning us of the dangers for companies of becoming wildly optimistic in the face of a few positive economic signs. Its study Green Shoots, False Positives, and What Companies Can Learn from the Great Depression “warns CEOs to guard against the kind of hasty optimism – based on an excessive reliance on one or two promising indicators – that undermined some companies during the Great Depression” according to a press release from the firm.

American Public Media’s August 3rd Marketplace show featured a segment on navigating the upturn, in which Standard & Poors Chief Economist David Wyss says mistiming the end of the recession can be a fatal mistake. He warns that “The danger is that in some industries if you sort of stay in self-protect mode too long, you’re going to miss the upturn completely and end up losing market share. More companies go broke in the upturn than they do during in the recession.” However, he then goes on to say that he doesn’t think the fabled upturn has arrived yet. Hmmph, he’s probably right.

So, what’s a company to do? We ask our clients to separate risks too big to assume in uncertain times from sensible business moves that have a way-better-than-even chance of paying off. As a marketing firm, we’ve watched with dismay as some clients have chopped budgets and then complained about anemic sales. (In case you wonder, we ourselves have navigated through client budget cuts by taking on a larger number of clients, including a number of new ones, balancing out the reality that most companies are spending less than they did in 2008, and in some cases, probably less than in 1908.) We’ve used more media relations and other PR, more Web surveys, more grassroots marketing, and a lot fewer big splashy campaigns to get the job done for clients.

Where one Downturn Downfall comes in, we believe, is in paralysis. If revenues are shrunken, sure, reduce spending somewhat. But don’t cut off all your outreach or you will be forgotten by an uncaring world. And if your company can’t seem to decide what product to introduce in this tough market, or when to introduce the thing, GET TO WORK ON DECIDING. If sales are down, sell harder. Sweat still works if you combine it with smarts. The fact that the company down the street announces its sales are down 30 percent, or even the fact that your own company’s sales were down 45 percent last quarter, is not adequate reason to assume that you will inevitably match this depressing performance going forward. Expect more, just don’t spend all your mythical earnings yet.

The economy is an orchestra. It does take a combined effort to make sweet music, sure, and we’re an earplug-worthy cacophony right now. But each musician – from Acme Ant Traps to Toyota – has a singular part to play. Your mother was right. Practice your music longer each day, focus, be open to inspiration, and improve your – and all of our – performance.

I recently attended a school reunion and met up with a woman whom I hardly know as an individual, but know well by her impressive professional achievements. She’s famous, in fact. Really famous.

In fact, as I was driving to this reunion, I’d thought of her, of how much she’s accomplished, how impressed I am. Oh, and I had a little twinge that I haven’t soared to anywhere near those heights. But so be it.

When I arrived, I pinned on my obligatory year-of-graduation badge and began to talk with people. At one point, the very accomplished woman came over to say hi to me. We chatted for a moment, then she squinted at my badge. “Oh,” she said, clearly dismayed. “I’m the OLDEST one here!”

Wow. Here she was, smart, successful, well-known… and worried she graduated a couple of years before me and others at the party. It goes to show that no matter how much we’ve done, we’re still just whoever we are, insecurities and all. Is that what it means to be human?

There are perhaps ten books I would like to write. And that’s just today. On how many of them am I actively working? Well, that’s another matter.

I’ve gone through major life changes in the last several years, including the passing of a spouse, the growing up and (successful) moving on of my two sons, the closing of one company (a stock photo firm) and the happy growth of van Schouwen Associates into broader areas of public relations and interactive marketing work.

I’m left with lots of work to do… and ten books to write. I read a question recently: what is so important that it keeps you from living the life you want? (Or, in the echo in my head, “writing the books you want to write?”)

In fact, there can be situations so important that you need to sacrifice your own desires and life plans. The trick is to decide what situations qualify. I suspect that we often give priority to needs and demands we’ve outgrown. Such as my need not to do the research that will allow me to progress on any one of my ten books. On a recent vacation, wandering around Key West, Florida (I recommend that as a way to change your perspective, for sure!) I encountered the book Quit Your Job and Move to Key West. I resisted buying it and hope no vSA employee will get any ideas. It was the underlying premise of the book that really caught my attention: who says you can’t make radical life moves? Alter something fundamental?

Even if you want to keep your job (sure, I do too) it’s great to think about your life plan, and the quality of your days. Are you enjoying yourself? Spending your time on things that make you happy or are useful – or both? Having the courage to change and grow?

Challenge your assumptions, even the ones that seem too solid to re-examine. News flash for the settled, middle-aged or complacent among us: Taking risks can be a great adventure. People have asked me where I get the nerve to be an entrepreneur or take other risks I’ve elected to assume. Well, I start by asking what the worst case scenario will be if things go wrong, and whether I can face it. (For example, “I could end up living in a cardboard box…” then I decide well, okay, that’s really not very likely, and I guess I can deal with less drastic downsides that are more possible).

Not everyone’s dream is the same, obviously. While one person wants to leave the proverbial rat race, another wants to build a tech empire. Or write ten books, or maybe just finish developing that one book. Or get divorced. Or find someone to love. Develop an organic garden. Live in a happy place. Adopt a teenager.

What’s yours?

At work… are you agonizing about reduced sales, lowered projections and the future in general? Fair enough; you’re not alone. At vSA, we regard this era as the right time to make sure we (our clients and ourselves) are ready for whatever comes next for this economy.

Marketing is much more than getting products and services in front of potential buyers, and now is an opportune time to step back, w-a-y back, in the process.

Perhaps you sell products for the building trades and business is terrible. Or you are a financial consultant, or an engineering firm.

Ask yourself some hard questions:

-Is business bad just because of the recession, or are there underlying forces at hand that go beyond economic cycles? Are our products still the best ones for the market? Are we delivering them well? Pricing them right? What’s our customer service like? What does the competitive arena look like now? Are people going to start buying this specific service again soon? Do we need to diversify? If so, how?

If these questions seem extreme, just imagine that you’re in the newspaper business right now. You’d be wishing you started responding to market change years ago! Hopefully, that’s not you. Hopefully, you have the time and resources to do this work right now, while it’s quieter and the phones are not always oh-so-tiresomely ringing off the hook.

Some tools to employ:

Do competitive research. Is someone else getting ahead of you? Diversifying intelligently? Changing their business focus? What can you learn?

Survey your customers. They can’t tell you everything, of course. As Henry Ford once said, “If I had asked my customers what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse.” (But at least he’d have known they wanted something faster.)

Do an environmental scan. What people and what processes can help you get where you’re going? Do you have the right staff, consultants, attitude? What needs to change?

Turn concern into proactive planning. Use this time for fresh thinking and an energized approach to the future.

Can we, as strategic planners, help? We welcome your questions and comments right here on the blog or through our office.

I ran into one of my bankers the other day, in the hallway, and we started to chat.

“It’s hard to get in front of people these days,” he said to me, “They don’t even want to talk.”

I knew what he meant. Unsure about what action to take next, some business people sink into inertia. When someone should at the very least be out front painting the sign, she is instead… moping?

Let’s travel back in time… to the Great Depression. While we’re at it, let’s have a bowl of cereal – from Kelloggs. Why Kelloggs? During the Depression, while Post was taking the “logical” course of pulling in its reins, Kelloggs doubled its ad budget, got on the radio and promoted the heck out of Rice Krispies. In fact, Snap, Crackle and Pop got their start in the 30s. By the time the economy recovered, Kelloggs was the predominant player. While market share was dwindling, Kelloggs grabbed more and more of it.

Can that work for your firm? Will top management allow it? What are your greatest concerns and hopes? We’d love to hear from you.

Perhaps you’ve heard this possibly-true story before? British statesman and Prime Minister Winston Churchill, noted for his wit, at a party, talking with a socialite:

Churchill: Madam, would you sleep with me for five million pounds?
Socialite: My goodness, Mr. Churchill! Well, I suppose – we would have to discuss terms, naturally.
Churchill: Would you sleep with me for five pounds?
Socialite: Mr. Churchill, what kind of woman do you think I am?!
Churchill: Madam, we’ve already established that. Now we are haggling about the price.

As a business owner, there’s one thing I like about this recession. Just one, I think. And that one thing is this: during “challenging times” (gotta love that phrase) people show you who they are. (And now we are just haggling about the price.) I like to take advantage of these moments of exposure. When people show me who they are, they’re doing me a favor, albeit unwittingly. Here’s a fab-u-lous opportunity to learn who I’m dealing with, and to determine how (and whether) to deal with that person again. In some cases, the phrase “it’ll be a dark day in hell” flashes like neon in front of my brain when thinking about re-engaging with a person. In others, I find a new friend or mentor.

Quiz: Does your boss/client/spouse/”friend” crush you beneath her heel when she finds herself in control? BAD SIGN!

Carefully observe…

The way very privileged people treat service personnel – the best people treat others the best, do they not? – the way employees treat their boss when raises fail to appear or life is crappy (I consider the French trend of holding the boss hostage when he lays you off to be in poor taste, for example), the rabid way Newt Gingrich behaves in the face of a popular Obama administration, and the way partners and spouses treat each other when the pressure is on… these actions and attitudes can all be taken seriously.

Me? I’m really trying to be nice… especially after I hit the “publish” button today!

We’re seeing a difference in the way our various clients are marketing right now.

The entrepreneurial, smaller to mid-size companies are continuing to put up a good fight. They’re either marketing aggressively and continuously, or adding new capabilities such as Web sites to augment their sales efforts. Our largest corporate clients are, in some cases, a different story. More oriented toward detailed budgeting and do-or-die profit projections (as well as being observed by anxious shareholders) their marketing has been somewhat more cautious, with projects going on hold or reduced in scope, and decisions put off by higher-ups until the next quarter or so.

As marketers, of course we’re pro-marketing. You can’t hide your way out of a recession. Silence is NOT golden in this case. However, as strategists, we’re also sympathetic to the way different organizations must do business.

So… what’s quick, affordable and can yield results exciting enough to stimulate the next activity?

Create a single initiative to motivate your customers. Run an End the Recession Promotion. If customers buy a particular new product or open an account, you give them a related gift or incentive… or perhaps a second product free.

Get people together. There’s no better way to laugh in the face of adversity than to make clear that your company is not taking part in any further downturn. Mind you, this get-together is special. It’s one in which you make your new energy, direction or differentiation clear either through an important announcement, an incentive toward buying your newest and greatest offering or a funny and motivational speech directed toward the audience’s interests. Build relationships, and then follow up after the event.

Call the media! Do you have a new product, market or major initiative? Celebrate it with a press conference. Include (as appropriate) product demonstrations, a tour of the manufacturing facility or an introduction to the creative force behind the new idea… you know, like meeting Steve Jobs.

Do it online. Spring clean your Web site. Does your Web site bore even you? Does it look like your Uncle Leon designed it? The Web is very important now as your public face. Use it to inform, inspire, communicate, and (yes!) perhaps even sell. It’s an investment that will pay you back.

Become a thought leader. Write a bylined article (or we’ll do it for you) about where your industry, or its technologies, or consumer demand is going. Publish it in publications that your prospects read. Reprint it and send it out to prospects. Let your salespeople hand it out as yet more evidence of your expertise.

Start a GOOD newsletter. Let it convey what’s new, why customers are lucky to work with you, why now is the time to invest in what you want to sell. Do it at least twice a year. E-news or print… it’s up to you.

Partner with another company. You sell window treatments, they sell windows. For a limited time, customers who buy windows get a 40% discount on any of your fashionable designs!

Add your own idea here. Inaction isn’t useful, but daring outreach is. You’ll be glad, whether in three months, six or a year that you moved aggressively while others did not. What will work for you?

Words, conversational styles and mannerisms are important. There are people we look forward to talking with and people we don’t look forward to talking with. And sometimes to differences are so minor, it’s funny – e.g. do you cross the street to get away from me, or call just to hear my voice?

In a Difficult Economic Time Such As This, the importance of good interpersonal skills is even more pronounced than usual. Although, really, isn’t it nearly always better to be a person others enjoy being around?

Here, from the recent past, are some special moments from my friends and associates with people we don’t look forward to talking with:

One:

Prospect (asks the consultant a technical question)…

Consultant (answering question as simply and briefly as she suspects she really must in this case)

Prospect, no longer able to bear the sound of consultant’s voice, or said consultant’s response, or maybe suddenly needing very much to go to the restroom… impatiently says, “ANYWAY…”

Ouch.

Two:

We’re finalizing a sale, making (maybe not brilliant) points, but points nonetheless.

Prospect: “Okay. Shut up. You’ve made the sale.”

Us: “Oh. Thanks. Gosh.”

Three:

Visitor using most sympathetic voice: “I remember when you were younger and had cute little kids at home. NOW what do you do with yourself? Do you ever have any fun?”

Host: “Uh…” (thinking furiously, quite sure he does have fun but suddenly unable to retrieve the Fun File) “Um, sure, I guess!”

Urk.

More don’ts:

-Reminding people they’ve gained weight or look REALLY tired. Or just looking at them with a strange facial expression that says something like, “I forgot about the way your hair always looks so… you know…”

-Telling people who’ve had a tragedy that – hey! – you just heard about SOMEONE ELSE who had a tragedy!

-Moping about the economy and making sotto voice helpful comments like, “is it REALLY AWFUL at your company, too?” Try a more subtle line of conversation.

We can talk about the DOs, too, but I bet we’re not done with the DON’Ts. Are we??

By the way, you look great! Have you lost weight, or fallen in love?

Your message? Your message, please??

Ever find yourself in a situation where others are listening to what you have to say, giving it credence? Yikes. It’s probably even strange for President Obama, and it is certainly strange for me. When I was a little girl, a teenager and an adult, it occurred to me more than once that LISTENING could be a valuable way to learn from others, and so I did, sometimes, figuratively tape my mouth shut and accept input. It sounded something like this: “MMMMMmmmmMMMMM.” Listening can be difficult, at least for me.

Now, I can be surprised when what I have to say is regarded as valuable. Wow!! Recently, I began accepting and then seeking speaking engagements. My initial topic promised to be a difficult one – how I successfully navigated this business through the death of its other dynamic partner. Somehow, after a few runs though, I learned to integrate the natural humor in the story (yes, even here there is very funny stuff) and make the speech useful and relatively pain-free for my audience.

Then a surprising thing happened. I found I was learning from these talks. I realized that I had taken the business past the catastrophe but that my work isn’t nearly done. A changing business climate awaits and I need to look at how we best come face-to-face with a new world and solve marketing problems. (More on this later, when we have something worthwhile fun to say!)

Another surprising thing happened, when I channeled my odd sense of learning through talking into my consulting work with clients. I began to listen closely to my answers and to challenge them. I started to realize I had new ideas for their work and mine.

Note to self! This has turned out to be a lot of work! I’m no longer nearly satisfied with what I already know. I don’t feel like I can skim over difficult questions that may require physics (oooh), learning about new technologies that involve words like “Jaccard coefficient” or involving myself in the types of financial analysis that allow a business to grow and a business owner to take to her bed in a fake swoon, wishing she HAD finished started that MBA.

So, surprise to all you old friends who wished I would JUST SHUSH! Talking has been good for me. Listening is nice, too, especially since I’ve developed a wicked sore throat.

(Okay, I’m ready to listen again, please get the duct tape…) I’m curious – what’s made you learn something when you were not expecting to learn, maybe expecting to teach? And how do you most enjoy learning?

In short? Gracelessly. Let me tell you about my experience just two short weeks ago, while so many happy parents and kids were enjoying a February vacation romp.

(Not that I’d know anything about being a workaholic. Surely not.)

But WHAT IF I were a workaholic, sitting at my desk that vacation week, and had sent out, oh say 137 emails regarding upcoming projects, and NO ONE ANSWERED?

What if it were only Monday and I had checked off everything on my digital To Do list for the whole week because I hadn’t had any pesky interruptions?

I began thinking, “I know it’s school break week, and it’s all about the kids and Florida and the Caribbean and skiing. And Disney World. But gosh, didn’t anyone bring their Blackberries?”

Can you find the business tools in this photo?

But now I see the world differently. Next week, I myself am taking a break and checking out the beaches of warmer climates. I’m going to try something new. Even though I’ll  have my laptop, and my cell, I’m going to act (at least some of the time) like I don’t. Ah.

It may take a day or more for me to get back to you. Well, unless you say it’s urgent.