Today caught up with me. Running hard, just like you.

It has been a wild year, but then we knew it would turn out this way. Maybe we didn’t believe it, in our hearts until the past couple of months, but we knew it would turn out this way. We worked hard to prepare, get our balance sheets in order, wean off debt, and say goodbye to some of our favorite people. It was those last goodbyes that were the most difficult, those we hoped we could keep, but couldn’t after all.

And some companies are still growing, traditionally counter cyclical to economic circumstances. This will still be a time of change.

Some of what we know will no longer be valid. Some solutions will no longer fit the new problems. It will require our brightest mind and sharpest execution. And it will always come down to this.

Find a market need big enough.
Build a product or service to meet it.
Then produce it faster, better and cheaper than your competitor.

To help, we have created a new management program called Working Leadership Online. It will start at the end of January. You can find out more about by following this link.

But, now it is time to rest and enjoy the holidays with family and friends. Management Skills Blog will return on January 5, 2009. And now this story, first published here in 2005.
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As Matthew looked across the manufacturing floor, the machines stood silent, the shipping dock was clear. Outside, the service vans were neatly parked in a row. Though he was the solitary figure, Matthew shouted across the empty space.

He reached for the switch and the mercury vapors went dark. He slid out the door and locked it behind.