GenXmanager: Leadership for the Generation X Manager

I was at a SmartCEO event about a month ago and I remember someone saying that in this economy one could hunker down and lose hope or be optimistic and take action now to prepare for the good times ahead. When the economy turns a corner will you be ahead of the curve or behind it? Will you or your organization be poised to take advantage of good economic conditions or will you need to “ramp up”? Again, use this recession to raise your visibility, not hide.

You might be saying, “How can I raise visibility when budgets are being slashed and my boss/department/company won’t let me spend a dime to be proactive?” My answer? Be creative! Here’s a personal story.

I direct an MBA program delivered by two Maryland state universities. Maryland is facing a large budget deficit and all state employees (including those working in state universities) are being furloughed. From the way it looks, the best thing for the UB/Towson MBA program to do is to hunker down and wait until things improve, right? Wrong!

We are building our brand through the use of Web 2.0 technologies and engaging prospective students in creative ways. In fact, I solidified a speaking engagement at the annual GMAC MBA Leadership conference just by sending a simple email and asking if I could share our implementation of Web 2.0 with other MBA programs. Finally, we are reducing costs through streamlined processes which will benefit students, staff, the program, and the environment.

What did all of these initiatives cost? Very, very little (if anything).

I say this not to brag about what we’re doing but to show that through creativity and innovation you can move forward through the recession and come out strong. Perhaps stronger than ever before.