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Happy New Year!  And good riddance to 2008…

I am implementing my biggest New Year’s Resolution today.  What’s that?  Simply, to be optimistic.  Like Ronald Reagan, I truly believe that our best days are ahead of us, not behind us.  After all the bad news of 2008, I am ready to be optimistic again!

Our new president-elect ran his campaign on a theme of Hope.  Whether you agree with his politics or not, I think we are all ready for a new page, and are HOPING that 2009 will be better than 2008.  There are lots of reasons to be optimistic for 2009, and we are positioning our company to take advantage of them.  You should make sure your company is ready as well.  After we implement Resolution #1, “Be Optimistic”, it is time to implement Resolution #2, “Get Ready.”

The infrastructure industries are about to go through one of the biggest booms in generations.  Though we don’t yet know much about exactly what the government will spend money on, we do know that they will spend tons of it.  Probably a lot of roads and bridges will be built, but there will also be a good bit of investment in water supply and water treatment projects, and a lot of investment in clean energy projects, among others.

My guess is that it will be at least July or so before the money actually starts flowing, but once it does, look out.  It will be like drinking from a fire hose for those companies who have prepared themselves to take advantage of it.  It is critical for all of us to begin RIGHT NOW to prepare our companies and our products and our people to be in position to catch some of this money when it does start flowing.

Specifically, if your company or facility fits within any conceivable definition of infrastructure, plan a major upgrade NOW.  Get the design done, get it approved, and get it ready to be funded.  And then get it in the hands of your congressman.  If your company supplies pumps, parts, or services to any industry that can conceivably qualify as infrastructure, get your marketing messages refined and increase your marketing NOW.  Folks are going to be buying lots of pump systems in late 2009.  You’d better be one of the companies they have heard about when the purchase orders are ready to be written in the summer and fall.

What kind of car are you driving?

When I bought my first car in the mid 1980’s, Hyundai, Kia, Lexus, Acura, Mini, Hummer, Saturn, or Suzuki were not among the available choices.  I could, however, have purchased an Isuzu, Fiat, Renault, AMC, Peugeot, or Datsun.

Do you still think that a well established brand that leads its industry year after year is virtually impossible to destroy?  Or is an unassailable competitor?  Think again, and look at General Motors.  The world has changed dramatically, and the concept of a “brand”, while no less important than it used to be, is now a much more fragile thing. 

Just a few years ago, Compaq, Circuit City, Lehman Brothers, and Oldsmobile were household names.  Today, they are gone.  A few others such as AOL, Yahoo, Starbucks, and Kodak, that were industry founders and once commanded dominant market shares are teetering on the brink of irrelevance.

Why?  In some cases, poor stewardship of the brand, or unforeseen industry disruptions or mergers are to blame.  Often, it is because the company just sat still while others innovated.  But there is also something at work here that is generational in nature.  Americans today, especially those under the age of 30, are much less loyal to brands than they used to be, and we have a lot more choices than we used to.  I think this is a good thing, and reflective of a vibrant, entrepreneurial economy.  But it is also a warning to the big, dominant, older brands in any marketplace — be good stewards of your brand, and don’t ever stop promoting it.