Seize golden opportunities in a downturn

'Most managers look for golden opportunities when times are good all and is well with the world. This is a mistake. The best one's often arise during downturns'. So wrote Donald Sull last week in the Financial Times.

Ian King, CEO of BAE said recently in a speech on the economy that 'the strong will get stronger and emerge with greater market share'. How true this is, especially in the current market.

Look at the vultures circling around the carnage left by the collapse of the Icelandic Banks. Philip Green jetting off to to Rekjavik to pick at the bones of ailing UK retailers. He may not have been successful then but he saw a golden opportunity to acquire businesses that were vulnerable and took first mover advantage.

Some smaller entrepreneurial businesses I talk to see the present as the time to grow; take tactical advantage and come out stronger. These are bold moves in uncertain times. But it's easy in a downturn to focus exclusively on managing threats, whilst losing sight of the opportunities out there. To counterbalance this, business owners need to ask themselves if they are retreating from opportunities they can seize? Does our competitors' pain create an opening for us? Can we snap up key resources at bargain prices?

All the economic bad news can be balanced by the reality that every downturn has an upside. Business leaders need to recognise these opportunities during hard times and seize them.