Initial Reactions to Recession

If you're a manufacturer and you didn't see this coming, you were probably blithely creating parts and getting ready for new '08 product releases when all of a sudden, Wham! sales are off by double digits.

Let's say you're driving and you see a deer in the road. Your first reaction is to put in the clutch, right? Maybe it'll move. In business this is the equivalent of stopping forward growth, letting a couple of positions term out through attrition, disallowing overtime or putting off that order for the new CNC machine.

If the deer still doesn't move, you might hit the brakes a bit, actually trimming payroll or cutting costs in some other ways.

All too often we are reactive. Deer! Slam on the brakes! Let's talk a bit about how humans respond to perceived threats. Physiologically, when we feel threatened, the adrenal glands kick us into fight or flight. What happens is that the body pumps energy and blood supply into the arms and legs and brain stem (center of physical activity and defense). This starves the forebrain, the center of rational thought. This is the cause of test anxiety where students know the answer but can't think of them while taking a test because they're frightened. Bottom line? When you're stressed, you're stoopid! BTW, fight or flight also starves the viscera where our immune system resides. That's why people tend to get sick when they're stressed. They're just more susceptible.

Step one. Stay calm, slow down, take deep breaths.