Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • September 2, 2020
  • Article
  • Harvard Business Review Digital Articles

What Really Prevents Companies from Thriving in a Recession

By: Ranjay Gulati and Mark Wiedman
  • Format:Electronic
ShareBar

Abstract

Even in the best of times, many companies fail to fund and staff new opportunities. As decades of research have shown, leaders fear threats to their status and power and so become attached to existing businesses and budgets, regarding them as entitlements and as a baseline for determining what’s “fair.” So, what might break the lethargy? An external trauma or force, such as a global pandemic or other crisis event, certainly helps. But two key measures to enhance their agility and flexibility include setting the strategic frame for resource reallocation decisions by focusing people on a positive vision of the future and reforming the budgeting process to outline metrics that can be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects.

Keywords

Recessions; Resource Allocation; Budgets and Budgeting

Citation

Gulati, Ranjay, and Mark Wiedman. "What Really Prevents Companies from Thriving in a Recession." Harvard Business Review Digital Articles (September 2, 2020).
  • Find it at Harvard
  • Register to Read

About The Author

Ranjay Gulati

Organizational Behavior
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • June 2025
    • Strategic Management Journal

    Outcome and Process Frames: Strategic Renewal and Capability Reprioritization at the Federal Bureau of Investigation

    By: Ryan Raffaelli, Tiona Zuzul, Ranjay Gulati and Jan Rivkin
    • March 2025
    • Faculty Research

    Sarojini Naidu: Courage of the Nightingale

    By: Ranjay Gulati, Malini Sen and Anjali Raina
    • September 2024 (Revised December 2024)
    • Faculty Research

    Sona Comstar and Blackstone: Unlocking Value Through Business Transformation

    By: Ranjay Gulati and Kanika Jain
More from the Authors
  • Outcome and Process Frames: Strategic Renewal and Capability Reprioritization at the Federal Bureau of Investigation By: Ryan Raffaelli, Tiona Zuzul, Ranjay Gulati and Jan Rivkin
  • Sarojini Naidu: Courage of the Nightingale By: Ranjay Gulati, Malini Sen and Anjali Raina
  • Sona Comstar and Blackstone: Unlocking Value Through Business Transformation By: Ranjay Gulati and Kanika Jain
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College.