CNN calls it issue #1. The political candidates talk about it incessantly. You cannot open a newspaper, turn on the TV, or even have a conversation with friends without talking about the economy and the “r-word” – recession.

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Everyone is obsessed with either avoiding a recession or getting out of the recession. And, of course, recession has become the fodder many salespeople and sales leaders are using as excuses for missing plan.

Doom and gloom are everywhere and everyone is worried. But that is not the point of this week’s show. Instead I want to answer the question: Recession – what is it good for?

Recessions do for businesses and Sales Professionals what mistakes do for us as individuals. When we make a mistake we learn, we reflect, and we work to get better.

In the marketplace recessions separate the weak from the strong. Recessions expose businesses and salespeople who have strayed from the fundamentals. Recessions punish poor judgment and the failure to innovate. Recessions move mediocre employees out of their jobs, while lifting top performers to new heights. Recessions prune the dead wood so that new growth can form.

During the good times, when things are booming, we have a tendency to ignore the basics and we lose our discipline to execute the fundamentals. We ride the wave where even the weak can survive. For example, just a few years ago you couldn’t walk down the street in South Florida, where I live, without tripping over a real estate agent. Everybody was in real estate. It was easy to succeed. Just get some business cards printed and you were in business. Today, the only real estate agents who have survived are the ones who have remained disciplined and steadfast to the fundamentals of real estate sales. These are also the sales pros who have been willing to innovate and find creative ways to keep selling houses like reaching out to overseas buyers. And what many find amazing is these agents are making as much or more in commissions as they were during the irrational housing boom.

During the good times businesses forget to manage costs. With so much top line growth hitting the books they stop monitoring invoices and expense reports. Vendors take advantage by padding bills. Travel and Entertainment expenses explode. Recessions expose this fat and force business owners and managers to get their financial houses in order. In doing so they build stronger foundations and more focused operations.

During the good times innovation stalls. With sales high and business booming we are happy with status quo. “Why fix what ain’t broken?” becomes the mantra. It is easy to stay in our comfort zones when there is no compelling reason to change. Recessions are the swift kick in the rear that business leaders require to get moving and innovate. Getting ahead of the curve is no longer a caption on some motivational picture in the conference room. Now it means life or death for the entire enterprise. It is all hands on deck from the CEO to the field Sales Professionals to learn, adapt, change and innovate. Suddenly there is a sense of urgency and everyone gets better.

Today, your challenge as a Sales Professional or Entrepreneur is to look at the world through different eyes. It is easy to cling to the past or to get mired in regretful thinking. “What if I had . . .?” and “Only if we had . . . ?” are questions that won’t change anything. We all want the good times to come back. It stinks to worry about where our next pay check will come from. But recessions are about action. The strong look forward, not backward. The innovators thrive. The determined and persistent win. Take action now. Make a new plan. Create a new vision for your future. Energize yourself and the people around. Do the hard work, make the tough decisions, never look back and soon you will rise from the recession just as the Phoenix rises from the ashes - faster, sleeker, and more powerful.

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This is Jeb Blount and thank you for joining me on The Sales Guy’s Quick and Dirty Tips for getting the deal done. If you have sales questions please email me at SalesGuy@quickanddirtytips.com. You will find my profile at SalesGravy.com, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Send me a note and let’s connect. This week be sure to check out one of my all time favorite Podcasts - Grammar Girl.