Surviving and Thriving..

Found this over at Dot.Life.com. It's aimed at Silicon Valley Entrepreneurs, but applies to Printers, and other businesses just as well.

John Doerr came armed with a list of 10 top things that chief execs should do to help them come out the other end of this downturn.

Mr Doerr is with the famed VC company Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and when he speaks, people listen. That's because his early investments in companies like Google, Amazon, Intuit, Compaq, Sun and Symantec have earned him some serious kudos."

So here are his tips...

1. Act now. Act with speed. Raise money. Get a loan. Focus, cut or sell.

2. Protect the vital core of the company. Use a scalpel instead of an axe. Be surgical.

3. Make sure you have 18 months or more of cash on a conservative revenue forecast.

4. Defer any facility expansions. Don't spend money on tech infrastructure, such as new computers or software if you don't need it. Re-evaluate your R&D priorities.

5. Renegotiate any contracts that you can. Everything is negotiable.

6. Everyone in the organisation should be selling, from the receptionists to the engineers. It's a noble profession.

7. Offer people equity instead of cash as bonuses. You can do this with outside vendors as well.

8. Pay attention to where your cash is. Treasuries, for example, are more secure than money market funds.

9. For your revenue plan, pay attention to leading indicators.

10. Over-communicate with everyone: employees, investors, key customers. Let them know your resolve and don't sugar coat things.