Every day as I pick up the newspaper I read the same headlines – high gas prices having a financial impact on consumers and businesses alike; sub-prime mortgages pulling another financial institution into a crisis situation; and stock market volatility causing uncertainty with everyone. On top of this, we have the unknown impact of the upcoming presidential election. It’s like being in a meteor shower with meteors coming at you from all angles causing many business leaders to wonder if they have people with the right experience and skill to get through safely. A few wrong moves can put you out of commission for good. So how do CEOs maneuver through these critical times?

As I mentioned in an article in Cerius Edge, successful CEOs and executives achieve results in good or bad times by continuing to charge ahead, with an eye on mitigating business risk. But to do this they must take a flexible and strategic approach to their workforce, thus avoiding the use of their fixed budget dollars to grow their companies. As you know, a rigid organizational structure is very costly and sometimes a limiting factor on performance; thus resources should be built around specific business needs. Are you being honest about what your current staff can and cannot do? Is your operation as efficient as it could be to increase margins? Is there a new market where you could be selling a new or existing product? Did your last acquisition go as smoothly as you would have liked? Are you being smart about your human resource allocation today?

Start making your own headlines and make a change.