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

    • January 2023
    • Faculty Research

    First to Fight? Culture, Tradition and the United States Marine Corps (USMC)

    By: Ranjay Gulati, Akhil Iyer and Joel Malkin
    • January 2023
    • Faculty Research

    Veeva Systems and the Transformation to a Public Benefit Corporation

    By: Ranjay Gulati and Allison M. Ciechanover
    • January 2023
    • Faculty Research

    Nick Saban: Embracing 'The Process' of Sustaining Success

    By: Ranjay Gulati and Eppa Rixey
More from the Authors
  • First to Fight? Culture, Tradition and the United States Marine Corps (USMC) By: Ranjay Gulati, Akhil Iyer and Joel Malkin
  • Veeva Systems and the Transformation to a Public Benefit Corporation By: Ranjay Gulati and Allison M. Ciechanover
  • Nick Saban: Embracing 'The Process' of Sustaining Success By: Ranjay Gulati and Eppa Rixey
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