Take a deep breath

The news and the business blogs have been telling us how bad it is out there. Nothing like a 24-hour news cycle to pound reality home. Yes, thank you. I get it. Times are tough.

So, now what? Return to the basics. Last week, Sequoia Capital gathered all the CEOs of their portfolio companies together and presented its new Get Real or Go Home approach to running businesses. If you can get through all the graphs, the message is tucked away on slide 53. My guess is slides 1-52 are for those that had somehow slept through the last few weeks.

Slide 53 talks about returning to the core, cutting the fat, and focusing on the bottom line.

First and foremost, take a deep breath.

Second, remember the basics of the OODA Loop.

• Observe – The market is tough, cash and credit are tight.
• Orientate – Become a lean shop.
• Decide – Take action. Avoid the “deer in the headlight” scenario and actively plan a strategy to weather the downturn.
• Act – Implement cost cutting strategies and eliminate excess inventory while reviewing costs and overhead.

And most importantly, remember the exercise is a loop. Once you taken a course of action go back and observe the outcome and start the process again.