Yesterday’s Wall Street Journal included an interesting interview with Nancy F. Koehn, a business historian, author and professor of business administration at Harvard Business School. In the interview, entitled
We’ve Been Here Before, Ms. Koehn reminds us that even back in 1869, people like Henry Heinz (founder of Heinz Co.) were able to survive and even thrive during tough times. I particularly like her response when asked whether she thought companies were ‘hunkering down’ too much: “I do. At a general level, American business leaders and other managers have spent months in fear mode — primarily in a reactive, fear-driven, fast-acting mode. That is very natural given the shock and speed of this downturn.”
How does this compare with what you are seeing? I would love your thoughts and comments. Thanks and hope you have a great weekend! I’m going to try and get my puppy (an active six month old chocolate lab) outside for some much needed exercise. Amelia