Running a Business in Hard Times

17-rules of running a business during hard times:

1. Understand the Macroeconomic business cycle and change (Neither boom cycles nor bust cycles go on forever). Get involved in the public policy formation.
   
2. Understand your industry business cycle and change
   
3. Focus on generating cash
4. Take care of your customers
5. Stand behind your product
6. Understand your customers and change as they change
7. Got to have a right distribution channel for your product
8. Solutions always exist - think outside the box to find a workable solution
9. Think long term always. (Aggressive short term cost cutting may lead to disastrous results)
10. Today's business leaders need to build not only the company they lead but also the community they live in.
11. Best companies do well in all economic climates - Bad, Good or Mild. They keep their costs low, take care of their customers, keep a sharp eye on the competition and invest in their people and products.
12. Be Patient and preserve and never lose hope. Work smart and hard. Follow the fundamentals and the results will come.
13. Think of the success not the failure. If you think of trying not to fail, you will fail.
14. When resources are tight, put them where they matter the most. Follow the 80/20 principle. Focus on the 20% which produce 80% of the results. Treat the remaining 80% differently.
15. In difficult times, the strong gets stronger and the weak gets weaker.
    
16. Be number one in your core competence.
17. Invest in smart people who realize they do not have all the answers but are willing to learn.