One great joy of our business is being able to observe many successful teams of people across our clients, and to see how they react to market situations. As a manager, I feel like I am watching many sports games simultaneously, with our own players able to extend our client’s teams for important positions, but always within the strategy of those business leaders. This is true across industry, company size and geography in our client base. The past twenty four months have proven a huge contest, and we have seen some amazing examples of good management and innovation. But what interests me most now, as signs of an emerging economic environment appear, are the ways our clients are building themselves back up. In many cases, because of the experiences of this economic reset, our clients will be more successful than if the reset had not occurred.

I call it the Lance Armstrong syndrome. Most people know that Lance Armstrong won seven Tour De France victories, and most know that he battled serious cancer, but most do not know that he did not win the Tour De France until after he fought for his life against the cancer. He was certainly a professional cyclist prior to the illness, but unremarkable by most accounts. It is easy to see that the experience created mental toughness and drive. But what most do not know is that the experience actually physically changed his body, and that he essentially recreated himself into a different body type on purpose. The diseased ravaged his muscles to the bone. By his own accounts, he was so weak when he got back on a training routine he actually had to walk his bike up certain hills in the Austin, Texas area. Prior to the cancer, Lance Armstrong had a wider and stronger upper body that came from his earlier life experience as a swimmer and triathlete. This added weight and wind resistance. After the cancer, his body was purpose-built to very narrow upper body, incredibly powerful legs, base and core, and a substantially lower body fat ratio than he ever was able to achieve before.

I can draw a similar view of many of our clients. Some fought for their lives as a going concern. Some were early movers on hard decisions and gave themselves airspace, while some came dangerously close to the ground. But there is a sense of mental business toughness now among leaders and teams that could only be born out of necessity over the last several years. In a physical sense, clients are combining new ways of operating, and new ways of leveraging information, to essentially build their own organizations in a leaner, faster, more aero mode. They are using collaboration spaces, discussion threads and self service web portals for knowledge sharing to do more, faster, with less people. They have put in new processes and relationship management systems and customer feedback mechanisms to get closer to their customers. They have had to surface information in real-time modes, accessible by web and with devices, in order to make survival decisions. Now those web based information environments will enable them to beat competition and take market share. They have shortened their cash cycle through billing process improvements and customer management improvements. Now they have the discipline and systems to better manage their cash and reduce their risk exposure. Where there were gaps in efficiency, and loose processes that may have been just accepted in the past, they have had to be challenged and tightened during the last two years. Our clients are leaner, smarter, and ready to compete in ways that, frankly, they would not have trimmed to if this economic reset had not occurred before. Now, as businesses cope with tight credit markets and the need to grow through organic success, these newfound capabilities will become ever more important.

The years ahead will be promising for our clients that have gained discipline and fitness during this economic reset. We look forward to being players in the game with them.