The Economic Winter Is Not the End. It's a New Beginning for Those Who Grow Through Crisis
- Jun 5
- 4 min read
If you're reading this, you’ve probably felt it too: it’s like someone pulled the handbrake on the entire economy.
The bills keep coming.
But the money doesn’t.
Clients don’t respond.
Or they say, “Let’s talk after summer.”
People in your team have questions.
And you don’t have the answers anymore.
Not because you don’t care.
But because, honestly, you’re not sure what’s next either.
And it’s not just you. It’s happening everywhere.
This isn’t a dramatic crisis like the pandemic. Or a collapse like 2008.
It’s a slow grind.
Daily. Heavy.
An economic winter.
And a long one.
Margins are shrinking due to inflation.
The government is drifting.
Everything moves slowly.
Companies are cutting, restructuring, delaying, pausing.
In the middle of winter, focus narrows to what’s urgent:
Cashflow. Clients to follow up. Salaries to pay. Costs to cut.
That’s where the pressure is. That’s where the phone rings. That’s where survival seems to be happening.
But if you stay only there, it’s like walking through fog with your eyes on the ground.
Maybe you won’t trip today, but you also won’t know where you’re going.
And from all that slow motion running, a deep tiredness builds up.
Not just financial. Emotional. Mental. Sometimes, just physical.
Survival Is Not a Strategy
It’s natural to want to cut your losses.
To stay safe.
It’s a healthy instinct.
But if you stay there too long, without direction, you start to sink.
I’ve worked with many teams in the past year who said: “Let’s just get through the next 6 months and see.”
But this kind of spiral doesn’t let you go.
The longer you stay in it, the harder it is to get out.
Right now, it’s essential not to cut blindly.
Not to stop the very investments that keep the business alive.
The mistake is thinking: if you cut everything, you’ve saved the business.
The truth is: you’ve also stopped any chance of progress.
Letting go of people without truly seeing their value.
Not thinking how they might be reinvented.
Keeping things just out of habit.
Not talking to your clients.
Pulling away.
Avoiding any decisions.
This is not the time to isolate. It’s the time to be honest.
With yourself. With your team. With reality.
All these missteps? They can cost you.
What Are Resilient Companies Doing Differently?
The ones who succeed aren’t perfect, cold, or emotionless.
They’re the ones who don’t let emotions take over and manage to stay clear in the middle of the storm.
They choose to build, even if slowly.
They understand that liquidity means time.
They protect their cash but don’t hide it in deposits.
They use it to buy time, space, and to invest wisely during the crisis.
They look clearly at what works and what doesn’t.
They let go of illusions.
They focus on what really matters:
Where energy is wasted.
Where money is lost.
Where processes are too slow.
Where the team’s energy is draining.
They want to understand, not assume.
They talk to clients.
They don’t guess what clients want.
They ask.
They listen.
They adjust direction, not just speed.
They don’t cut just to cut. They clean up with intention.
They protect the core: people, products, relationships.
And they invest exactly where crisis brings opportunities.
They plan tactically, but stay strategic.
They don’t stop the plan. They adjust it.
They think 6 months ahead, but keep a 3-year map in mind.
Crises are not just hard times.
They’re moments of natural selection.
And if you only do what’s needed today, without building for tomorrow, you risk having no future.
All the big organizations say the same thing: Crises are the most dangerous time to abandon your strategy but also the most rewarding, if you have the courage to keep going.
The Future Won’t Wait. But You Can Still Call It In
I know it feels like there’s no time for plans.
Like all that matters is closing the month.
Paying what needs to be paid. Keeping the lights on.
But right now, when everything seems frozen, that’s when you most need to lift your gaze.
Not with fake optimism.
But with clarity.
With a few small, conscious steps.
You need to see:
Who in the team still believes and who’s just going through the motions?
Where the money is really going and why?
What part of the business is truly burning and what’s just noise?
Which budget is worth reusing, not cutting?
Which clients really matter?
What’s worth keeping?
You need to choose: What stays. What goes. What gets rebuilt.
It’s not about having all the answers.
It’s about having the courage to ask the right questions, especially when it feels hardest.
It’s hard. I won’t lie. But it’s not impossible.
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