These days the economy has everyone worried. The media keeps our focus on the bad news: a tumultuous stock market and layoffs. Any good news, and there is good news, is overshadowed by the bad.

No doubt these are uncertain times like we've not experienced before. But with uncertainty brings opportunity.

It does not matter if you are part of the leadership of a Fortune 500 Company or leading a mom and pop business, now is the right time to re-evaluate your business. Now is the time to define new ways of doing business, build new capabilities and set new standards of customer satisfaction
Challenge the status quo. Pursue operational efficiencies, protect, and grow your position in the market.

Here are some questions to ask yourself as you look for the opportunities in your organization.

Leadership:

• As a leader in your organization are you panicking or are you the calming influence in these trying times? How you react to the unknown will dictate how your organization fairs in the long haul.
• Are you proactively communicating with your employees and key stakeholders or are you reactive?
• Are you rigid in your ways? Or are you flexible, are you able to quickly absorb information, make smart choices and move accordingly?

Operations:

• Are your budgets and business plans up to date?
• Is your core business financially sound? Does your revenue model support your cost structure?
• Do you have a solid review process to monitor your performance?
• Are your business processes supporting your core business effectively, or is there redundancy, waste, lack of information to make informed decisions?
• Have you fully implemented your operating model? Or do you have untapped resources (human, technical, financial, capital, etc)?

Customers:

• Listen to your customers, what are they telling you?
• Are your key business processes customer focused? Is it easy to do business with your company?
• Have you taken a fresh look at your service levels as well as the quality of your product or service?

Employees:

Your employees are the key to your success, plain and simple.

• Are you open and honest with them?
• Are you involving your employees in your decision making process?
• Are you engaging them for their ideas? Take your employee's ideas and concerns seriously and engage them in open forums that encourage creative thinking.
• Are you recognizing and rewarding them for their ideas and efforts?

Innovation:

The cliché, "Think Outside the Box" certainly applies now.

• Are you balancing the short-term needs of the organization with long term strategic objectives?
• What new things are you able to offer your customers, new products, and new services?
• Is innovation a core capability of your organization?

The reality is the economy will bounce back, we do not know when, but when it does, make sure that not only are you ready for the rebound, you are leading the way!