Managing When Times Are Tough

A turnaround expert offers a practical management guide to surviving a recession or any other tough business environment, from an industry downturn to getting blindsided by competitors. Theo van Dijk has spent a lifetime getting companies out of difficulties. In Managing When Times Are Tough he shares his expertise, offering practical advice on honing management skills and employing simple techniques that are highly effective in helping companies weather nearly any storm. Urging managers to rediscover that business is a team sport, and he argues that the key to success in tough times is to ignore the "big gloom and doom picture" and concentrate on the issues a manager can and must control. In a text interspersed with anecdotes from his own experiences, van Dijk teaches managers and business owners how to concentrate on real cash flow, emphasize product differentiation, implement marketing tools without adding expense, and practice the technique of "inverse marketing." Stressing that management requires personal commitment and great attention to detail, he demonstrates a "lean and mean" approach, enforcing practical skills that will work now—and prepare the team for the opportunities to come.