“The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word ‘crisis.’ One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger – but recognize the opportunity.” Richard M. Nixon

Your competitors are weary. It’s been a tough year – with only conflicting predictions about the future. Customers are leaving. Those that stay have reduced their commitment.

Not since the late 1980’s have executives been presented with a marketplace so filled with opportunity, so ripe for growth. But few are looking at the opportunity. This is the time for business leaders to plant the seeds for a vibrant future of greater market share and greater earnings. While these seeds are not expensive to plant, they do require additional legwork on your part. Go for it, even if these initiatives require a little investment. Money is cheap these days and the ROI has never been better.

Make a company-wide commitment to increase your market share. Listen to your clients, solve their problems. You are lowering prices as we speak. For these lower prices, offer greater discounted volume and request longer commitments. Endure slow payment. Your competition may be closing shop, or at least, cutting back.

While starting Comedy Central, we were confronted with cable operators reluctant to bear the expense of offering new channels on their systems. We committed to gaining 100% distribution within the cable business. We offered our channel at a discount, we provided the cable business with launch marketing support, and we had every employee visit or correspond with a cable operator to demonstrate our level of commitment. We got our distribution that resulted in extraordinary revenues from the sale of our newly expanded audience to advertisers. It also made life a little more difficult for our competition.

Think what your company would look like if you employed the most accomplished executive team in the business. Performance-related compensation has left some highly regarded executives earning considerably less than they have in the past. Indeed, it’s likely some are overextended because they spent in anticipation of compensation. Solve their problem – offering help in terms of guaranteed compensation for the short term and a competitive package for the longer term.

As President of the Fox Television Stations, we used this strategy very successfully in Los Angeles in the late 1980’s when the television advertising market was in the doldrums. We recruited the very best sales people in the market, increasing their guaranteed compensation against commissions. When the market recovered, we were rewarded multifold for our relatively modest investment. At the same time, we sent a strong message about our intentions to the entire market.

Community outreach is always one of the first expenses to suffer the knife when budgets are cut. Don’t cut it. Community outreach defines an organization. Be efficient, volunteer, but don’t let the community forget how much you appreciate their support and loyalty.

Now take another look at the opening quotation. Manage down the danger; seize the opportunity. Nobody else is looking there.

Robert M. Keek is President of Kappa Associates International, where he leads new ventures, growth initiatives, and reinventions of companies poised for growth. Contact him directly at rmkreek@gmail.com.