Companies that are successfully navigating the global economic downturn are finding ways to grow despite a headwind of negativity -- and it has everything to do with their planning mindset. These companies have reinvented their planning processes and analytical capabilities to drive a frequent and detailed review of the business that provides early insight into developing trends and growth indicators within their portfolio and markets.

On Sept. 14, 2008, Alan Greenspan commented on credit markets and general financial instability, labeling the then-developing situation a "once in a century crisis" -- the type of market dynamic that occurs once in one hundred years. What followed was a cascading set of retrenchment events that forced executives to respond to abrupt declines in revenues by implementing quick and aggressive cost-cutting programs and execution-focused initiatives. Despite these moves, very few executives, if any, abandoned speaking about growth -- many emphasizing goals of returning their company's performance to a growth trajectory.

For many executives, the question remains, when is the right time to shift the planning mindset from execution-focused to planning for growth?

Cost-Cutting Programs That Emphasize 'The Here and Now'

The tremors of the past 18 months forced many companies to retreat from aspirations of growth and quickly turn their attention to aggressive cost-cutting methods. From a manufacturing perspective, those companies closest to the automotive and industrial sector were hit the hardest with revenue declines exceeding 20%-30% in many cases. Companies with portfolios dominated by premium offerings also suffered, as consumers moved to value line offerings.

Without question, drastic cost-cutting measures were required to address rapidly declining cash flows and limited access to credit that challenged the very survival of a company. However, once a company's cost structure has been addressed to align with the new realities of revenue, it becomes critical for leadership to drive a renewed focus on growth, or risk pessimism and short-term thinking dominating the planning mindset where results begin to follow a path of compounding negativity.

Planning for Growth Requires a Different Mindset

In 2001, A.G. Lafley of Procter & Gamble provided a view into this mindset in an interview that followed an announcement of the company's cost-cutting programs.

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