Outlasting hard times: before long we won't have to be thinking like this.

• Author: Wiesner, Pat
• Position: On MANAGEMENT

If your business is anything like ours at WiesnerMedia, your whole organization gets a lot of energy and enthusiasm from the sales team. They come back with war stories of how they finally edged out the competition and tall tales of how our product won the day!

Their feelings of accomplishment and success are shared by all. It's one of our connections with the real world, our customer. It is an important measure of our effectiveness as a company.

So what happens when times are tough? What happens when the victories are further apart? Right now most would agree that many Colorado companies (including us) are dealing with hard times. With this in mind we asked some known "copers" and survivors what they think are the keys to enduring our present situation so that we will be able to enjoy the growth we all know is coming to Colorado. The answers fall into these three categories.

Financial Planning: Be conservative and plan for the hard times. Don't let wishful thinking cause you to schedule a recovery before it is really going to happen. Make sure that your conservative business plan allows you to make it in the worst-case scenario, well beyond the expected upturn. Show this plan to your accountant and work together on it until you both agree it's doable and reasonable.

Work your Plan: Pay attention to your plan. Cut the cloth to fit the suit! Work harder and smarter than you ever have. Don't put up with anyone on your team who is not pulling his or her fair share. Replace them if they are not; it is your responsibility to the business and the others who depend on it. Stick to the budget. Make sacrifices. Make sure you perform for your customers; they are trying to maximize results, too.

Attitude: A key part of keeping it together in hard times. Each manager worth his or her salt must be the...