Category Archives: Corporate Survival

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Rewarding Your Team Even During Tough Times

This post  was inspired by comments made by Marie Hunter on Tuesday, March 10, 2009, in her blog. It is a response to her questions:

Meetings, Events, Travel and Hospitality Industry: Leaders Needed, Marie Hunter wrote:

“When it comes to meetings, travel and entertainment, America is in a temporary state of gridlock. Headlines condemning corporate entertainment next to headlines about ponzi schemes and secret bonuses have caused public outrage and boardroom paralysis. This panic may be understandable based on the events of the past few months; but, the panic itself has dire consequences for the economy.

What questions should we be asking?
Now more than ever, corporate leaders, elected officials, regulators, industry associations, small business owners and salespeople nationwide are struggling to understand what is and is not appropriate when it comes to client entertainment and employee perks. When is it appropriate to spend money to recruit, educate or incent employees? A question that is not getting as much press, but that I would like to see on the table, is when, if ever can public companies allow employees to engage in entertainment practices that implicitly or explicitly condone gender bias?

Marie, I decided to take a stab at answering your questions and accept your challenge but my response became too long for  the comments section.

Before we begin, here is the White House’s position on business travel and meetings:

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said President Barack Obama was not discouraging travel when he said last month that businesses receiving federal bailout money should not be taking junkets.
“The president believes it’s important to have a strong tourism industry and that it’s important that, as the president said earlier … that we shouldn’t retrench,” Gibbs said. “He would encourage people to travel.”

Gibbs said Thursday that the president was referring specifically to companies “that are getting large amounts of public funding.”

“The President does have great concern with public money being used for that,” he said. Gibbs added that the president’s comment was “very clear,” and passed on a chance to express regret.

So,  here is my take on your questions.  I encourage other management consultants, meeting and business travel professionals to respond to your challenge and answer your questions in their blogs. Since I am based in Toronto, I’ll be giving some Toronto examples but they can be applied at other locations.

 

How to Reward Your Team Even During Turbulent Times

What meetings and events do you feel should be green-lighted immediately and why?

When companies are in trouble, they should be spending THOUSANDS of dollars to bring in management and business team building consultants to help  them resolve their problems instead of HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of dollars on junkets and luxury events. Either through on-site meetings or off-site retreats at AFFORDABLE local venues such as community centres and conservation areas, consultants can steer organizations through a structured brainstorming process to identify:

  • cost saving measures and strategies
  • new target markets
  • new sources of revenue
  • strategies for improving efficiency

Depending on your location, here are a couple of ideas. These sessions can be offered at luxury resorts when the good times roll and conservation areas when times are tough. The content remains the same, the recreational components are the only things that change:

  • Wilderness Survival
  • Desert Survival
  • Arctic Survival
  • Visexecutaries - loosely based on the Apprentice, this session can be delivered at a luxury resort or a local community centre. When times are tough, the “task” can consist of developing a strategy to address some specific business challenge your organization is facing 

Save the lavish celebrations for when your company is back on track. In North America, we seem to want to party all the time.  Unfortunately, all too, often the emphasis seems  to be on strictly recreational events that organizations try to pass off as team building. Definitely we get far more calls for recreation and entertainment than consulting. This is quite surprising during a recession. People seem to forget that they are running businesses not social or country clubs. This bandaid approach is merely offering placebos instead of getting to the root of organizational problems and generating solutions.

What gender-related entertainment practices should be discontinued?

Strip clubs, male only golf clubs, etc. are highly inappropriate and they have NEVER had a place in a  corporate setting PERIOD!! Ditto for bringing porno movies to coroporate retreats and skinny dipping on the corporate dime. Grow up. You’re running a business not a fraternity house.

While we’re at it, it’s time to cut back on alcohol consumption and the open bars at corporate events for a while. This will save a bundle.

What constitutes lavish entertaining?

When companies are in trouble, they should postpone expensive events and partying until performance has improved. Focus instead on resolving business problems.

If everyone has worked hard and you’ve had a successful year, pull out all the stops. Lavish entertainment to reward employees and express appreciation to clients is perfectly in order when you’ve earned it. Depending on  your location, some ideas might include:


When is it okay to spend money on Employees?

Even when a company is facing a challenging year, it’s important to reward top performers, build skills and boost morale. The key is to gear the spending to organizational performance.

Hint: When a company is in trouble, more money should be spent on resolving business issues than on entertainment and recreation. Far too often, it’s the reverse.

How should recruits be entertained?

Again it depend on whether or not the company is performing well. If the company is facing challenges, you can still entertain recruits but choose a cost effective strategy such as:

If a company is doing,  well consider some of the options I’ve already listed and other luxury options like:

These are perfectly in order when a company is doing well.

If you’re located in the Middle East, a desert safari would be perfect. If you’re in the Caribbean perhaps a beach barbeque would work.

What other questions should we be asking?

I posted these suggestions on Marie Hunter’s blog. I’ll take a stab at anwering them now.

 What can companies that are having financial difficulties difficulty do to reward their people?

Companies can reward top performers and top performing teams and still provide a meaningful experience for hundreds of dollars instead of thousands of dollars. There is no need for gift cerfiticates starting at $1,000 per employee.  People seem to be lacking imagination.

Under $250 per person

  1. Give top performers gift certificates for spa TREATMENTS or a local Day at the Spa rather than spending a weekend away for a spa retreat.
  2. An overnight stay at a nice local inn with dinner and breakfast for top performers and their spouses.
  3. Get a corporate table at Polo for Heart or a similar event and invite top performers and their spouses.
  4. Dog sledding afternoon and lunch at a local inn or resort.
  5. Morning of horse riding and lunch at a local inn or resort.
  6. A day at  Canada’s Wonderland for top performers and their families.
  7. Seasons passes to Canada’s Wonderland for a family of 4.
  8. A day at the zoo for the top performers and their families.

Under $100 Per Person

  1. Dinner at a nice restaurant
  2. Afternoon Tea
  3. Movie passes for teams that have gone above and beyond the call.
  4. Theatre tickets.
  5. Concert tickets.
  6. Take a group of top performers and their spouses to the Royal Winter Fair including the horse show and dinner at the upscale restaurant that is on site every year.
  7. Get a table at the gala for tournament of champions.
  8. Tickets to local hockey, baseball or basketball games.

How should companies that are experiencing financial difficulty entertain their staff?

  • Picnics at a local conservation area
  • Christmas party – for heaven’s sake, don’t cancel the Christmas party. Insted, do it at a venue in the suburbs instead of a costly downtown venue. Consider using a community centre with an ice rink to save money and keep everyone entertained.
  • An evening at a comedy or improv club.

Anne Thornley-Brown is the President of Executive Oasis International, a Toronto based firm that regularly organizes incentive travel and executive retreats in  Dubai, Oman, Jamaica, Malaysia, Singapore, and Canada. They provide  one stop shopping service with  a  personalized approach to incentive travel for corporate groups of up to 40.  Customized itineraries include travel, transfers, hotel, tours, team activities, and special events.

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Keep Canada Meeting

Keep Canada Meeting Initiative

Do we need an initiative similar to the one the Americans have launched?

In the USA, incentive travel and meeting industry associations have started a “Keep America meeting campaign”. Do we need something similar?

South of the border, associations and leaders in our industry have “got their game” on.  In response to the “AIG effect” that followed the Wall Street Meltdonw,  articles are being featured in newspapers and on association websites. Managesmarter.com is featuring a month long “Incentive Industry Survival Guide”.  There is a “Keep America Meeting” website and petition. Poweroftravel.org has a lot of valuable statistics about the contribution of the incentive travel industry to the global economy (statistics for Canada are missing). The site also has white papers and a transition section for Obama’s transition team.

Most of our tourists including our incentive travel business of foreign origin does come from the USA. It is said that when America sneezes, Canada catches a cold. So what goes on South of the border does have an impact on us. Yet in Canada, despite the fact that hotels are receiving numerous cancellations from corporate clients, we are hardly hearing a whimper about this.

I have personally contacted the heads of some of our associations that are involved in the meetings, incentive travel and retreat industries and suggested that we start our own “Keep Canada Meeting” initiative. I have not had a response to even one e-mail or voice mail, not even one.

So what’s up? Are we that different from our American cousins? Are we just too low key, conservative and reluctant to “make waves” to do anything proactive? Do we need a “Keep Canada Meeting” campaign? If we do, why are we not taking steps to launch one?

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Incentive Travel During a Recession: The Benefits

Incentive Travel During A Recession: The Benefits

by Anne Thornley-Brown,  President
Executive Oasis International

Whenever there is an economic meltdown, one of the first things that many companies cut is non-cash incentives such as incentive travel. This is short sighted. When times are tough, it’s much more difficult for your team members to “make their numbers”.  Therefore, it’s even MORE important  than EVER  to have strong incentives to motivate your team and reward top performers. 

Article & Video 1: Texas Roadhouse CEO defends Employee Appreciation Event

Video 2: Texas Roadhouse CEO defends incentive travel & employee recognition citing R.O.I.

If your company is performing well, there is no better time to schedule an incentive trip than during a recession. It’s simple. Due to reduced occupancy rates,  many hotels are offering deep discounts. Your company can now stay at even 5 star resorts in locations like Canada, Jamaica, Dubai, Oman, and Abu Dhabi for a fraction of what they would normally spend. Even 6 and 7 star resorts are now offering  special rates. These bargains will disappear when the economy picks up.

Incentive Travel Pays for itself

Incentive travel is particularly effective because it pays for itself.  How? Incentives are given at the end of the year AFTER successful results have been produced.  For incentives to be effective, careful planning is needed.

At the beginning of your fiscal year:

  • set your target, the minimal level of financial performance both in terms of profits and earnings per share
  • identify the level of sales that each member of your business development team needs to reach for your organization to meet its target
  • allocate a percentage of the sales generated by each member of your business development team for incentives.

Individuals should qualify for the incentive based on 2 criteria:

  • the company’s level of performance
  • the individual’s level of performance

Why companies Cut  Incentive Travel

So if incentive trips pay for themselves, why do companies tend to eliminate them when the going gets tough?   The answer to that question is complex but part of what is going on right now is “the AIG effect”. Some of the companies that received bailout money in 2008 have still organized luxury junkets and lavish corporate events.  They seem to have forgotten that incentive trips and luxury corporate events are rewards for EXCEPTIONAL performance, not an entitlement to be bestowed even when there is failure of epic proportions. We’ve all read the headlines:

American International Group Inc. spent $440,000 for a spa retreat for AIG executives just days after the company received a federal bailout.

AIG executives had spa treatments, banquets and golf outings, according to lawmakers investigating the insurance company’s meltdown.

Bailout recipient Bank of America is drawing fire for its five-day fan fest at the Super Bowl.

“From exclusive spa retreats, to million-dollar executive bonuses, expensive corporate jets, and now, lavish Super Bowl parties, Wall Street demonstrates time and time again that they just don’t get it,” said U.S. Rep. Edward Markey (D-Malden), rattling off other ways bailout recipients have spent money after they got taxpayer funds.”

Wall Street firm Morgan Stanley, fresh off a $10 billion bailout, held a three-day conference for clients at a five-star oceanfront resort in Palm Beach.

For the life of me, I don’t understand how Morgan Stanley could have been planning an incentive to Monte Carlo when 7,000 employees were laid of last year and more lay-offs are planned.

The poor judgement of some organizations and the risk of negative publicity is now making even organizations that are doing well nervous about spending ANY money for incentives. This is throwing the baby out with the bath water.

When Rewards Have Been Earned


When your company or members of your team beat the odds and produce outstanding results, they deserve to be rewarded. Make the rewards proportional to individual and company performance. One size does not fit all and it should not have to.

For example, if some members of your team have gone above and beyond the call and your company is still struggling, by all means reward them. However, this is not the time for gambling junkets or stays at lavish resorts. Keep it simple. Maybe a dinner at a really nice restaurant for the team members and their spouses will have to suffice for this year.

However, companies that are doing well should not be afraid to pull out all the stops. Go ahead and reward employees who have gone the extra mile and produced exceptional results and show appreciation for your best customers. This will encourage them to do even more next year. The key is to ensure that organizations that are doing well do their share in terms of giving back to the community and contributing to local charities.

You can set up a simple matrix to determine the non-cash incentives and corresponding dollar value of the incentive to which each member of your team will be entitled.

Sample Sales Incentive Matrix

Your PR department should also ensure that the word gets out about your company’s outstanding performance and the success strategies that you and your team used to produce results. Heaven knows, we could all use some encouraging news.

Incentive Travel: A Triple Win

Incentive travel and events such as awards galas can be viewed as a triple win. The company wins because a motivated team produces higher results. The individual sales professionals win as they reap the rewards of their efforts and receive recognition from their peers. The economy also wins. Even if you simply have a modest gala or in your hometown, it’s a ripple effect. A simple event produces work for:

  • event planners
  • restaurants, caterers or banquet halls
  • waiters, waitresses, hosts, and hostesses
  • transportation companies if you use busses or limousines
  • the drivers
  • the printers who produce the invitations, signage and programmes
  • grocery stores that supply the food
  • retail stores that sell the clothes that members of your team will wear to the banquet
  •  hairdressing parlours and barber shoppes
  • entertainers
  • musicians
  • AV companies

In addition to this, an overseas incentive will also produce work for:

  • airlines
  • airline crew, staff and suppliers
  • travel agents
  • pharmacies
  • luggage stores and manufacturers
  • the stores at the airports
  • hotels and resorts
  • companies that manufacturer and supply linen, cutlery, etc.
  • dry cleaners
  • uniform supply companies
  • florists
  • landscaping companies
  • tour operators
  • local attractions

….and so on…and so on.

So, Should you Eliminate your Incentive Travel Budget?

If your company is facing challenging times, postpone the parties and luxury junkets. This is just not the time.  Instead, take a portion of the money you would have spent for an incentive and  invest in consultants and business facilitators with a proven track record that can help you get your company back on track.  When company performance improves, there will be plenty of time to celebrate.

If your company is doing well, don’t be afraid to splurge a bit. After all, you and your team have earned it.

Anne Thornley-Brown is the President of Executive Oasis International, a Toronto based consulting firm that regularly organizes incentive travel and executive retreats in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Oman, Jamaica, Malaysia, Singapore, and Canada. They provide one stop shopping service with a personalized approach to incentive travel for corporate groups of up to 40. Customized itineraries include travel, transfers, hotel, business facilitation, tours, excursions, team challenges, and luxury corporate events.

Resources

Incentive Travel
Luxury Corporate Events

Other Articles

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An Update – February 9, 2009

Now this seems to be a responsible approach by our industry:

U.S. Travel Groups Issue Guidelines for TARP Recipients

Susan Davis reports on politics.

A coalition of eight travel groups released a series of suggested guidelines today for how companies receiving Troubled Asset Relief Program funds should spend their money for business-related travel activities.

“General policy statement: The CEO shall be responsible for implementing adequate controls to assure that meetings, events and incentive/recognition travel organized by the company serve legitimate business purposes and are cost justified,” the guidelines state, which include encouraged policies to justify any trip exceeding $75,000 with a written statement for its purpose, not allowing expenses for such travel to exceed 15% of the company’s sales, and limits on how much you can spend per employee on “recognition events.”

The groups involved include: the American Hotel and Lodging Association, Destination Marketing Association International, International Association of Exhibitions and Events, Meeting Professionals International, National Business Travel Association, Professional Convention Management Association, Society of Incentive Travel Executives and the U.S. Travel Association.

The move comes amid public backlash over reports of corporations continuing junkets and other events even though they’ve benefited from taxpayer TARP funds.”
Suggested Guidelines for TARP recipients

Source

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Corporate Survival Strategies in Turbulent Economic Times

Corporate Survival: Lessons from Survivor

Survival: The Name of the New Economic Game  

After reading this article, be sure to also read another one of my other articles Corporate Survival:  The New Economic Game. It explores the importance of engaging in savvy marketing strategies in a tough economy. 

Few people  have a neutral reaction to Survivor, the reality based TV show. Some love it and some  absolutely hate it. Love it or hate it, with 51.7 million viewers for the final episode of its first season, it’s impossible to ignore it. Given our turbulent economic climate that has made it important for many organizations to grapple with issues of survival,  Survivor is a powerful metaphor for businesses today. We’ll look at some of the parallels between Survivor and the real world. Then, we’ll focus on survival strategies to help your company get through the rapid fluctuations of our turbulent economic times.  

If your company has had a successful year of growth and profitability, you may be tempted to point your browser elsewhere. If you read on, you’ll find that the survival strategies we’re about to discuss are even more effective if you use them as preventative measures before your company runs into difficulty.  

The Stakes  

It’s tempting to laugh and shake your head when you watch Survivor but the parallels to the real world are way too close for comfort. Just like the current economic landscape, the terrain is rugged and the competition is fierce. Some people will do anything to make it. We’ve all met Deb, the highly productive and competent employee who rubs people the wrong way and gets fired for her efforts. We’ve also worked with Gerri, the attractive young woman, who will use any ploy, sexual or otherwise, to get ahead. Alicia, the competent and assertive African-American employee who gets canned because people find her intimidating. What would the corporate world be without the inevitable employees who smile in the face of co-workers and then cut them up behind their backs? Worst of all, on Survivor, the posturing, rumours, gossip, and backbiting intensify as times get tougher and the competition stiffer.  

What’s sad is that all of these ploys, plots and schemes sap creative energy, kill morale, and undermine the effectiveness of the team at the very time when everyone should be pulling together. When the stakes are high and you can’t afford to lose, working as a team becomes a critical survival strategy.  

On Survivor, make too many wrong moves and you face starvation, the cold or injury. In the real world, it’s downsizing, layoffs and bankruptcy. As Vancouver-based 360networks Inc. discovered, it doesn’t take much. Just one too many clients deciding not to go ahead with a project or postponing a decision to use your services until next quarter and it can be game over.  

Changing Times … Changing Rules  

In the real world, just like on Survivor, no one is immune. Anyone can get “voted off” the island. We have had a number of wake-up calls in the last decade from the tumbling of the NASDAQ in 2001, to the 2003 recession and now the 2008 Walt Street Meltdown. No need to repeat the names of all of the organizations previously considered to be rock solid that have been hard hit. We read about them daily in the headlines.  

Survival is the name of the game in this economy. It’s tough out there so it’s not hard to understand why a show that enacts these dynamics metaphorically would continue to appeal to such a large audience.  

What’s a Company to Do?  

So what’s the answer? Truth is there are no magic answers. Just some strategies to consider. To survive this economic crunch requires a corporate paradigm shift and a change in mindset. It involves recognizing that what worked last year may not be the right strategy for today. It will take the courage to try something different, a lot of support from suppliers, partners, and employees and, lots of prayer.  

Retreat  

Yes retreat but do it in a new way. It’s impossible to come up with innovative solutions when you’re charging around putting out the latest fire. It doesn’t have to involve going to a resort for a few days. Save that for your victory celebration when you’ve reached your goals.  Skip the golf and save by not forking out cash for hotel rooms. Save the luxury foreign junket for when your team is doing well and never go back to the old way of doing incentives.  Always build 1/2 day a day to a full day into incentives trips to: 

There’ll still be lots of time for golf and lying on the beach. 

In the meantime, if you really feel you must get away to kick off the whole process, it’s best to trim it down to one day at a location within 30 minutes driving distance from your office. Be creative. When the market is shifting so quickly, a weekly or bi-weekly 2 -3 hour session where you zero in on a key area is probably a better plan than a full retreat. Kick the process off with a day off-site if you like. There’s nothing wrong with a community centre, campsite, outdoor or indoor driving range,  or a even local swimming pool in a complex with a meeting room when times are tough.  The key to survival is to get your senior management team together regularly (once a week or every other week) to really analyze your strategy in 4 key areas:  

The meeting doesn’t always have to be face to face. You can use Skype, Second Life and a host of other virtual applications to bring members of your team who are away from your main office into your strategy session. 

If you have the skills to facilitate these sessions yourself, then go for it. Otherwise, take one of your senior facilitators out of the training room for a while, or hire a professional. It isn’t always best to go with the big guys. Remember, when you’re forking out $500o a day to a large firm, a huge chunk of that is overhead. Are they charging you a senior consulting rates and then sending you a rookie who they’re paying $600 a day? You’re helping them solve their survival challenges, not yours. A consultant from a smaller firm who has regular and first hand exposure to what it takes to win the survival game is more likely to bring you the expertise you need at this critical time. Also, don’t get caught up in the “not invented here” syndrome. During times of crisis, a fresh perspective is most valuable. It might actually be to your advantage to use a consultant from outside your industry.  

I can hear some of you asking “are you for real? When would we every find the time?” 

Absolutely! If you can’t free up at  2- 3 hours every other week to focus on strategic issues that are vital to the survival of your business because the latest technical glitch, customer or employee complaint keeps landing on your desk, it’s a HUGE red flag that you can’t afford to ignore.   

You need a super strong team at the director and management level that’s competent enough to handle the latest crisis and keep you informed. If you don’t have that, then you’ve just identified your first area of focus for your survival strategy sessions.  

Talent Recruitment is not an HR Issue  

During an economic downturn, companies often overlook the importance of a solid talent recruitment strategy. This is not the time to become complacent. An effective team will be your important weapon in your fight for survival.  

As a result of the downsizing that’s going on, a growing pool of qualified, talented people is available on the market. We haven’t seen this in years. Organizations have the opportunity to thoroughly screen and assess candidates to ensure appropriate skill level and corporate culture fit. Pinpoint the key competencies that you require in your management team. Clearly define your requirements. Incorporate behaviour based interviews, rigorous reference checks and work samples into your talent recruitment strategy.  

Apply the same diligence to your promotional decisions. This is not the time to let the old boys’ network come into play. You need top talent who will produce results and help you through these uncertain times. Sometimes this means looking at people who don’t quite fit the mold in terms of sex, age and race. Remember, you’re running a business and the name of the game is survival. If you want to surround yourself with people who can play golf and laugh at your jokes, join a country club.  

Employ or Outsource  

In an uncertain economic climate, the decision to expand your team should be weighed carefully. Is there any point in dramatically increasing your employee base to respond to new projects? An unexpected change in the financial stability of even a few of your key clients can mean a bunch of layoffs a few months from now. Hefty payouts for benefits, severance and vacation pay can substantially trim your bottom line. There is a pool of freelance and contract talent available to handle challenges at all levels of the organization. Ask yourself:  

  • Does this project really have to be handled by an employee?
  • Is outsourcing a viable option?
  • Would we gain more flexibility by responding to this increase in business by using freelancers or contract workers?
  • Can tele-commuting be used as an alternative to increasing overhead in the form of office space, furniture, and computer equipment?

Ask your HR team to provide you with an analysis to compare the full cost of filling a position with an employee vs a contractor. Factor in the costs if there is a need to lay the employee off a few months or years down the road. The results may surprise you.  

Be Compulsive About Customer Service  

When times are tough, you can’t afford to lose even one customer to the competition. If one customer has a negative experience with a member of your team, that customer will tell dozens of people about it. This can gradually erode your customer base and trim your profits. This is not the time to cut back on training your front line employees. You need to ensure that they have all of the training, tools, coaching and support that they require to deliver top notch service to your customers. That is what will give you the competitive edge in this market.  

Remember that customers come in all shapes, sizes and colours. You need to make it clear to all members of your team that their biases and hang-ups belong at the door. Every customer and every employee deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.  

Talent Retention  

In this turbulent economic climate, there is a misconception among some senior management teams that they no longer need to worry about talent retention. Even and especially if you have had to consider such drastic action such as layoffs, taking proactive steps to maintain the loyalty of your best talent is critical. If you treat some employees harshly during downsizing, then your most valued employees will wonder if they’re next. Their tendency will be to jump ship. Frank discussions with your team about the direction of the company, it’s challenges, and prospects are important. It’s best if employees hear the latest news, good, bad or indifferent, from you. Otherwise, the rumour mill will work overtime and undermine your efforts. Companies also need to shape and mould an employee friendly culture so that your best people will remain loyal to you until things turn around. During the last recession, companies that took advantage of the situation and made unreasonable demands of their team, sowed the seed of talent recruitment and retention challenges that plagued them for years.  

Harness the Creative Drive of Your People  

Earlier I mentioned that there are no magic answers. However, frontline employees who interact directly with your customers are in an ideal position to give you some clues. By involving your people in regular brainstorming and problem solving sessions, you can collect a lot of valuable information and ideas to help you resolve some of the issues you’re facing. For example, your frontline employees should be able to help you generate strategies to streamline your processes and reduce your costs. This could significantly boost your profit margin. Concord Idea Corp. ( number 42 on the Profit 100 ranking ) is able to produce memory at 33% of the cost of its competitors. Its 2000 profits were in excess of $800,000. It would be a shame to overlook this virtual gold mine within your organization.  

The Bottom Line   

Survival involves:  

  • getting a clear picture of where you want to go,
  • building a management team that shares your vision and communicates it clearly,
  • getting your team to pull in the same direction and generate valuable ideas and solutions.

You’ll reap the rewards in the form of:  

  • high morale,
  • reduced turnover
  • a committed team focused on your goals
  • an improved bottom line.

When the economy recovers and it will, we hope that some of these strategies will help your company be a survivor.  

For a discussion of more Corporate Survival Strategies, please check out Corporate Survival: The New Economic Game at our new blog The Tough Guide to Corporate Survival for Executives. It explores the importance of engaging in savvy marketing strategies and re-thinking limiting paradigms in a tough economy.  

© 2008 Executive Oasis International – All Rights Reserved  

Anne Thornley-Brown is the President of Executive Oasis International, a Toronto based firm offering consulting, executive retreats, team building and incentive travel. The company offers a range of simulations with a survival theme to help organizations fine-tune their strategy during tough economic times. These simulations offer much more value than just “fun in the sun”. Your team will walk away with strategies and tools that they can use on a daily basis to boost performance and ensure corporate survival.  

The Rules of Survivor  

The goal of the game is to survive. The last player to remain on the island at the end of the game wins $1,000,000. The game begins when 2 teams of strangers are left in a rough terrain. There is no opportunity for planning before the game begins. Each team has minutes to gather whatever supplies they can grab and trek across rugged terrain in search of their campsite. Exhausted and hungry, they must work together to construct some make shift dwellings, get a fire going (without matches) and figure out what they’re going to eat in the middle of nowhere. The inevitable jockeying for position and politicking begins almost immediately.  The losers get voted off, the winner takes all.