Is It Safe To Move Now - Part 1

As a senior partner of CnetG Asia, a HR Outsourcing firm, and also as Director of its Executive Placements business, I have been proded with this question in the last few weeks. In fact, we went on air on BFM 89.9 ( a new business channel in Malaysia) on this topic last week. Follow this link, if you missed it -

http://www.bfm.my/Is-it-Safe-to-Move-Raj-Kumar-Manish-Mehta-CNetGAsia.html


Unnecessary panic and apprehension can rob you of opportunities that may take you to greater heights in the next few years.

Any move to a new job, has to be thought off carefully, regardless of the economic cycle we are in, whether it's during a boom or during an economic crisis.

We are actually facing a global economic crisis, which was worsened by also the global credit crunch. This couling effect would have a myriad of impact on all sectors, on all countries in every region, on every strata of people and society.

The first crack appeared in August 2007 but it was taken lightly by all countries, thinking it's a domestic financial problem. It was the subprime issue in the U.S. that shocked the whole world and later brought out more worms in the can, with the collapse of strong financial organizations, such as Lehmann and Barclays.

Subsequently, every country started issuing negative reports. I attended several forums in search of facts and figures and the direction of the world economy. I was lucky to be invited to the Khazanah Megatrends 2008, which is the barometer of Malaysian economic and finance outlook for the following year. Reports show that the financial reforms by Bank Negara and the current results show that Malaysia will be cushioned, if not protected by the crisis. Our savings rate is at its highest and the NPL is considered low. An acquaintance of mine, who is a senior HR expert in a oil company said that Bank Negara has warned of a major impact in May and could last for 12-18 months, depending on how the government, GLCs and the private sector respond to it.

World reports from CNN and CNBC have showered some good news. Companies have started adapting to the crisis with a myriad of actions including restructuring, acquisitions, cost cuttings and shockingly, firing of inept CEOs, who were driven by greed, and self-centered policies.

Like dangerous curves on a racetrack, economic downturns create more opportunities for companies to move from the middle of the pack into leadership positions than any other time in business.Unlike straight-aways where leaders can thrive on raw power alone, steep curves require strategic finesse. That often results in dramatic differences in performance as leaders steer out of the curve.

This is the first flash of good news, that now is a better time to move, than before.