You may have fantasized about visiting exotic places such as Portugal, Spain, or Greece, but you may not want to plant any money there anytime soon.
All it took was tiny Greece to signal a potential default on its debt to send the U.
S.
markets spiraling like something out of a Greek tragedy.
With its deficit ballooning to 13% of GNP, Greece is one of many European countries saddled with debt.
With lower reserve limits, European banks carry more risk at times when liquidity is low.
European banks represent merely a microcosm of a bigger problem; the outliers, the seemingly trivial and unpredictable events, can trigger a global panic.
Volatility is not a recent trend.
Over the course of a decade, we have experienced Y2K, 9/11, Katrina, Enron/WorldCom, the Asian Financial crisis, mad cow, the tsunami, the bird flu (H1N1), and influenza strains that have not yet been named.
Volatility has become the norm.
In this age of uncertainty, entrepreneurs must have a greater level of preparedness because there are more variables to prepare for.
We must be prepared for the things that we control and even the things that we cannot.
Such volatility requires a different mindset, where infrastructure is more flexible.
Depending on the nature of one's business, we need to have more flexible labor structures, less inventory, and the ability to be nimble.
Perhaps more importantly, we must be ready to change like a chameleon, on a moment's notice.
In October of 2007, DuPont's CEO, Chad Holliday, visited a customer in Japan who reported a sudden squeeze on cash flow.
Upon his return to the U.
S.
, Holliday heard that U.
S.
automakers (who order paint from DuPont only 48 hours before applying it to new vehicles) were dramatically curbing orders.
Holliday took swift action.
The following morning, Holliday deployed the company's crisis management plan and put 17 teams in charge of curbing production.
Within 10 days, every manager in the company had met with their employees to "re-clarify expectations.
" If a company of DuPont's size can change on a dime, so can mid-market companies.
The volatile market place requires that we prepare cautiously, move quickly, and act decisively.
All it took was tiny Greece to signal a potential default on its debt to send the U.
S.
markets spiraling like something out of a Greek tragedy.
With its deficit ballooning to 13% of GNP, Greece is one of many European countries saddled with debt.
With lower reserve limits, European banks carry more risk at times when liquidity is low.
European banks represent merely a microcosm of a bigger problem; the outliers, the seemingly trivial and unpredictable events, can trigger a global panic.
Volatility is not a recent trend.
Over the course of a decade, we have experienced Y2K, 9/11, Katrina, Enron/WorldCom, the Asian Financial crisis, mad cow, the tsunami, the bird flu (H1N1), and influenza strains that have not yet been named.
Volatility has become the norm.
In this age of uncertainty, entrepreneurs must have a greater level of preparedness because there are more variables to prepare for.
We must be prepared for the things that we control and even the things that we cannot.
Such volatility requires a different mindset, where infrastructure is more flexible.
Depending on the nature of one's business, we need to have more flexible labor structures, less inventory, and the ability to be nimble.
Perhaps more importantly, we must be ready to change like a chameleon, on a moment's notice.
In October of 2007, DuPont's CEO, Chad Holliday, visited a customer in Japan who reported a sudden squeeze on cash flow.
Upon his return to the U.
S.
, Holliday heard that U.
S.
automakers (who order paint from DuPont only 48 hours before applying it to new vehicles) were dramatically curbing orders.
Holliday took swift action.
The following morning, Holliday deployed the company's crisis management plan and put 17 teams in charge of curbing production.
Within 10 days, every manager in the company had met with their employees to "re-clarify expectations.
" If a company of DuPont's size can change on a dime, so can mid-market companies.
The volatile market place requires that we prepare cautiously, move quickly, and act decisively.
Source...