We can all see dark clouds gathering ahead. The western world is in the throes of a recession, there’s a financial crisis that has got its foot stuck in the door, regulators are battling solutions behind not-so-closed doors. Meanwhile people are losing jobs, capital is drying up, and just about everything has hit the fan. While that appears to be a picture far removed from us, no country is an island today and India is no exception. The Indian economy has started to feel the beginnings of the pain, and by the looks of it, we need to be prepared for the tremors.
So, what do we do when turbulent times begin to creep in through the back door? I’d like to share a real life narrative here that shows us the power of conviction and persistence when you hit a bad patch. At the time of the dotcom bust, e-commerce suddenly seemed like a bad word and investors were becoming increasingly disenchanted with the virtual world. Jeff Bezos, who began amazon.com from the garage of his home in 1994, was undeterred. Having gone live in 1995 and reached the one million customer mark by 1997, he was sailing along when the dot-bust hit the internet. In 2000 amazon.com was forced to lay off 150 workers. The next year, it posted a loss of $1.4 billion. Many companies folded up, others changed tracks but Jeff Bezos believed in the power of the internet and did not buckle. He continued to expand the services provided on amazon.com. In fact, he stayed steadfast on the path of lowering costs even as profits dwindled simply because he believed that was the right way to go in the long run.
I read about him warding questions on how he was taxing the patience of his investors and shareholders with conviction that he was doing the right thing even though it may not be evident then. In turn, to reflect his own personal commitment, he passed up any pay raise or bonus for several years in a row. The rest is history. Amazon today is a case study in e-commerce success having achieved over $ 500 million in profits by 2004, nudging its way into the S&P 500.
So, the question is that when bad times strike, should we take the punch or should we, like Jeff Bezos did, stick to our belief and fight back?
Well, fight back we must. To begin with, we must stare at the situation square in the eye, assess the impending change, and then reinvent ourselves to fit the new picture. Having done so, we revaluate and then once again look ahead to ensure you stay ahead at the next step – and the next. This is a continuous cycle of change.
It is in times of a slowdown that smart engineers invest in skill development. Everybody can make hay while the sun shines, but it is in the darkness that the true stars shine out. There is always a silver lining to economic slowdown. As businesses slow down expansion and recruitment, it compels our youth to look at life as hard work – and hard work will provide us good CEO’s for tomorrow.
But of course, while fighting a slowdown, we need to understand that times, be they good or bad, don’t last. They will come and go several times in one’s life and must be treated with equanimity. India is a great long-term story and the show has just begun. We will see villages prosper, towns build the infrastructure to become megacities, with each city the size of a European country. There is plenty of action ahead in India and so there must be plenty of fight left in us. So, let’s hang on here and hang in there, and look hard and square at the changing kaleidoscope, to pick the right strategy to speed up again.
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Yes, I agree that "bad times are good" and the reasons are as under – § It gives you a chance to re-think about your whole plan & ask one basic question – Are we on right path? § It gives you a chance to re-look at the things / persons / works left out due to oversight or due to excitement of overwhelming growth
The whole purpose of bad time is to make yourself realize about Self / other’s mistakes which resulted to BAD TIMES.
Hope this bad time will soon be over………since there is bright day after every dark night
as you pointed out that in this time of crisis youth need to hone their skills .But at present there are many engineers who in spite of being placed are kept in dark about their joinings. Their is an air of uncertainty surrounding their future with the respective company.So what do suggest to such youths??
Vineet, very well said. I especially liked – cities will become the size of a European country! Its absolutely essential to have a vision and then work towards it. Only when there is vision, do things start moving in the right direction. There is a thought in the brain first, which then translates to an action and subsequently a habit. Important to believe in the potential of what we can do and achieve as a whole.
vineet,
I agree "Bad times are Good" it gives us immense power to fight against "Bad Times" We support you to fight against the "Bad Times" let us study,understand,analyse, apply and achieve the "GOOD" and the "ONLY GOOD"
This is not a time to grit our teeth and take the beating, but rather a time to do more. My little life experience has taught me that during times of difficulty there are always new opportunities out there, open for the taking …..the silver lining so-to-speak. My resolve is to speed-up and take those opportunities even if it means re-inventing myself. The current slow-down has shown me a fair share of dissapointments, but hey tough times never last, tough people do.
Excellent posting regarding "Bad times are Good" . Well Done!Very informative website with important details.This article does help with me learning how to swim.
Really great tips for beginners,Thanks…for posting
I have heard a lot about these words "Bad times are Good". Many of the successful persons have seen bad times and are now rising. I am very small to understand these words and have very less experience to understand them. But one thing which I have understood from my personal experience is that it is in your own hand to make your times GOOD or BAD. Yes, at times, a person’s luck effects his/her success but then it is in your own hand to fight back and kill all those bad times with your intelligence and hard work and keep oneself engaged in any kind of work to build something fruitful. I like this statement of yours, "As businesses slow down expansion and recruitment, it compels our youth to look at life as hard work – and hard work will provide us good CEO’s for tomorrow.", which is the fact of life.
The title has an oxymoron, albeit interesting
I subscribe to your views. While debating the idea to myself, I argued – what is it that you can lose? The example of Amazon CEO following his gut (a.k.a. conviction) is inspiring in the current times.
Wow,reading this made me feel so much better.