Elephant in the Room, Clock on the Wall: How to Compete Right Now.

OK, there’s no need beating around the bush: There’s an elephant in the room and he’s standing on a 300-lb gorilla. Or, said another way: Your customers aren’t buying anything and your entire value chain seems paralyzed with fear. There. I said it. These are what the Ivy League-trained economists who have poured over volumes of historical and forecasting data should call, but won’t, given their predilection for the most technical and pedantic terms, “sucky times.” But don’t panic, this is America, we put a man on the moon and people who can do that just don’t panic. Of course, we haven’t been back to the moon for quite a while, but it’s not like the place has changed much.

Maybe these times feel all “new and improved,” but we have visited this type of economy many times over the years, so you’d think we’d be used to it by now. The first step we need to take is to stop feeling negative and focus on turning the corner. Stop reading the newspaper and ignore the doom and gloom inbox for a minute. Every time we’ve been at the bottom of the curve in the big graph in the sky, we’ve taken out the ladder instead of the shovel, and it’s no different here. It’s almost always a better idea to figure out how to make more money than it is to cling to what you’re holding onto, but unfortunately, the hatchet men are always called in before the idea people.

Some businesses can’t be saved and many people will lose their jobs. This can’t be avoided, and to those who become victims, we hope it turns out alright. For the remainder, you are left to mind the store, and sort out the “nice-to-have” from the “must-have” features in your products. Going forward is going to be trying and many of us will empathize with the wheel-bound gerbil.

Although this magazine cuts its jib from the concept of speed, it may actually behoove you to slow yourself down for a while. In today’s climate of downwardly trending indexes (consumer, manufacturing, take your pick), “first-to-market” strategies can easily get trumped by “right-to-market” products. You may need to hold back your next-generation offering until you are convinced it includes the right features or you—and your product—may end up in the “Remainders” bin. “Time-based competition” is about many more dimensions of time than just speed.

Where you choose to focus your remaining resources can lead to a real “aha” opportunity. The challenge is three fold: (1) honor all current commitments; (2) reduce costs across the board; and (3) position yourself to hit the ground running when market troubles abate. For all three, I would consider taking the opposite approach to conventional wisdom.

Regarding current commitments, many would put a majority of focus here, simply out of helplessness and uncertainty of the future–there is much comfort in familiarity. I would strive to free myself of these attachments like a Zen Buddhist. Don’t neglect your loyal customers, of course, but I would suggest ruthlessly reducing or even outright canceling projects that would distract you from tomorrow’s priorities with today’s flashy urgency.

The “cost reduction” frenzy that today’s conditions encourage can have the most damaging effect on your ability to recover. While it is a valuable chance to reduce waste, it can be too much like selling your hair to buy a comb. One contrarian thought is that this is really a time to make investments in cost savings. Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DFMA) consultants are in high demand right now as companies try to pull all the manufacturing and materials cost out of their wares. Some companies would be wise to invest in new rapid prototyping, modeling and simulation technology. Upfront costs may look prohibitive, but these tools can enable higher quality and more lucrative decision making at the front-end of the development process. These are the type of combined cost saving/money making investments that make sense because of their long-term payback and are things you probably should be doing anyway, but now have the impetus for.

Now we get to the tough nut, the filbert of the group: being prepared for the next cycle of growth. What’s most difficult is predicting when customers will be ready to buy again and what type of value they will expect. Some companies will go the scaled-down, price-reduction route, while others will try to bank on innovation or exceptional quality. There will likely be markets for both. The big winners will be those that guess right and simultaneously have improved their development and production agility to take advantage of being right. Unless you have tremendous confidence in your product, don’t rush out with it. Watch the competition closely and react as quickly as possible when you see an opportunity to press hard on what differentiates you in the market.

Speed in product development is more about timing the arrival than time in transit. Throughout the trip, sometimes you have to hurry, sometimes be more deliberate, and often you have to hurry up to wait. It doesn’t help that the demands for “faster, better cheaper” have now been replaced by the more onerous “free, perfect and now”. Avoid the dangers of rushing too soon but don’t fall asleep while waiting for the light to turn green. Instead, work on your punctuality. Sometimes the early bird gets the worm, but it’s the second mouse that gets the cheese.