Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Enough with the Recession!

Out with the old, in with the new.
This week's Financial Post column offers "Ten tips to survive the recession."
Here's an excerpt:

Reward your most effective, loyal employees: Some people don't like secret bonuses, but there's no law that says you have to treat good and bad employees equally. If you've had to impose a general wage freeze, for example, you might offer your best (and most at-risk) employees a one-time cash bonus, or even a certificate for dinner at a nice restaurant. Little things mean a lot, especially when they're unexpected.

You can read the rest of the story here: http://www.financialpost.com/small_business/story.html?id=1121371

My column in PROFIT Magazine this month goes a step further. It's called "And now, the Recovery," and includes a number of useful tips designed to help you get your business in shape for growth and success post-recession.
Click here to read this story.

Finally, here's more cheery economic tidings, courtesy of the Financial Post's interview this past weekend with RBC chair Gord Nixon:

FP: How is Canada positioned for 2009?

Gord Nixon: We go into this recession fiscally in a very different position than we went into previous recessions over the last 40 or 50 years. Unemployment is at historically low levels, interest rates are much lower, you've got a strong banking system. There are a whole bunch of factors that I do think put Canada in a much stronger relative position to weather this storm than we have been historically.

On that note, best wishes for a very happy and prosperous New Year!

1 comment:

Jacoline Loewen said...

Thanks for the comments from Gord Nixon and his views on the strong bank sector and low unemployment rate.
This is true and we should be glad that Canadian banks have kept their risk levels higher than the USA banks. They are not lending right now though and are off loading any company loans that even have the slightest bad smell. Private equity is stepping into this gap and carrying the higher risk.
Quite right. Private equity's role is to take up the higher risk loans or money, not the big banks.
Now if only the Canadian dollar could be kept below the US dollar so that international Canadian companies have some advantage...