It seemed like a good idea at the time

All current economic data underscores the fact that the last quarter of 2011 is going to be a difficult time for all. As domestic budgets are ever more squeezed this will impact on businesses across the board.

The recent meeting of US Bankers at the Jackson Hole Summit concluded that debt problems facing advanced economies were even worse than previously thought and that even the drastic action taken so far to reduce the debt mountain may not be sufficient to head off another wave of crisis in the global banking world.

At the same time The European Commission continue their battle to stave off further crisis in the Euro zone as the risk of debt contagion spreads.

There has rarely been a more crucial time to conduct a root and branch analysis of your business. Undoubtedly there are areas which would benefit from some radical adjustments/ change of direction. The consequence is not acting now could have very negative effects in the next few months.

Now is the opportunity to prepare for increasingly difficult times rather than adopting an ostrich “head in the sand” approach.

When trying to explain a disastrous strategy to your Shareholders or Bankers it will serve little purpose to trot out the well worn defence “it seemed like a good idea at the time”.