Rich Kalenka says there is no magic formula.
Over the past two years, many businesses have been trying to find their way out of the economic recession that latched onto the business world in late 2008 and has only recently begun to loosen its grip.
Kalenka is the San Diego managing partner for auditing and professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, and he is in the unique position of running a local office that is advising clients on how to manage their recoveries, while also managing PricewaterhouseCoopers out of the economic nosedive. The experience has given Kalenka and his leadership team an extensive background in what it takes to navigate your corporate vessel into calmer waters.
And what it takes is good eyesight, an ability to listen and a dose of common sense. Recovering from the recession is more about scanning the markets you serve and having patience than about finding the masterstroke that will cure everything.
“We have a full complement of people who have worked closely to get through the downturn and into the uptick where we’re experiencing some positive results,” Kalenka says. “It’s what we’ve done across the entire world. In some cases, we’ve increased investments, not just maintaining the status quo. For example, we’ve increased our resources in the life sciences area.”
Until the economy fully recovers, your ability to grow might be limited. But you can still take advantage of the opportunities that do come your way by listening to clients and customers, keeping your employees abreast of market conditions and having a well-defined strategic plan that lays out how you want to maintain and grow your business, both now and in the future.
“For us, it’s really gathering intelligence from the clients we serve and hearing what their expectations are for the future,” Kalenka says. “That goes along with our own economic analysis and making sure that we’re in sync before we make those investments.”
