Since 2008, we've encountered higher unemployment rates, slow growth, hesitant customers, and a cautious public. What used to feel like a temporary condition has begun to feel quite permanent, and the best companies are learning how to adapt and operate in this environment.
Our region's economic stagnation (probably 70 years of it now) has forced local employers to play this game for quite some time. If you sell widgets in our area, to a local population, each widget you sell is one that someone else didn't. When you're promoted and your career accelerates, someone else was passed over. Because we've seen only minimal growth as a region, it means that it's that much harder to grow your company or career here. It's why the work we do at the Partnership is so important.
It also means that the local employers who have thrived are truly best in class. If you've grown your business locally in the past 70 years, it means you were good enough to grow despite everything going on around you. It also means that as the rest of the country struggles to adapt to the New Normal, it's business as usual for us. This time, we are ready for whatever comes at us.
In the coming months, I'll be posting examples of how Buffalo Niagara businesses can thrive in the New Normal. It's all about thinking differently, finding new approaches, meeting your clients' needs, and focusing on what's important. In the meantime, please feel free to leave a comment here or e-mail me with your thoughts on what's been going on.
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