KQ Article

I thought this might be the one. A couple months ago, I looked forward to writing this letter, where I would get to talk all about the economic recovery at hand. Well, we’re not there yet.

But we will come out of this — eventually. So for now, it behooves us to remain cautious and conservative in some areas. However, we should also begin preparing for a business climate that will likely be much different than this one.

I suppose the silver lining in where we are is that we don’t have to get overly concerned whenever the Dow dips or unemployment numbers rise. Since the economic difficulty is still with us, such fluctuations should be expected in the near term. But we can also stay energized, because we know that we’ll eventually be out of the rough stuff.

This issue of The Deluxe Knowledge Quarterly offers multiple perspectives on investing now for the recovery to come. One article offers guidance for reevaluating our brands. Another details ways to restore consumer trust. All of the essays assume that we aren’t quite through the recession, but we will be soon. So we better get ready.

I have three college-aged children, and each has an attitude toward recovery that fills me with optimism. While the impact of the crisis is not lost on them, my kids don’t dwell on the negative. They approach it as a serious problem, but also a temporary one. They still smile and laugh. They still go about their days, comforted by an unspoken but firm conviction that things will improve. This might be a lesson for us all.

It is still too early to celebrate the economic recovery. But it’s not too early to feel encouraged by the prospect that it will arrive, or to start preparing for what’s next.

_{© 2010 Tom Morefield}