In a February 18, 2008 Fortune article titled “Ram’s Rules,” Ram Charan outlines four principles for managing a business during a downturn:
- Keep building
- Communicate intensively
- Evaluate your customers
- Just say no to across-the-board cuts
Here’s how we’re applying those principles at ADS:
Keep building – we are currently hiring another developer to join the ADS CREW. We are researching and testing additional languages and frameworks to expand our toolbox for providing web-based solutions for our customers, and are building internal products that may later be turned into sellable products.
Communicate intensively – we have continuous communication between all of our CREW members as well as with our customers. We send regular update emails to all of our clients to see how they are doing, if they need our help with anything, and if there is anything that we can do better. In addition, regular blog posts and tweets keep everyone up to date on what ADS is up to.
Evaluate your customers – we are fortunate to have great customers both here in the US and abroad. Managing accounts receivable is always a fun and challenging task, however we have changed our billing model to help minimize risk for us and our customers.
Just say no to across-the-board cuts – we have no plans on cutting anyone, cutting any benefits or perks, or cutting any research and development. Money in the bank ensures that we can float our entire staff should something unforeseen and catastrophic happen.
What are you doing to prepare for down times?
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