2009 was tough, 2010 was supposed to be the year of recovery, 2011 is looking like another stormier. It would not be unreasonable to make some pretty scary predictions. A double dip recession? Currency devaluation? More political instability? More war on terror? More match fixing?
Nobody wants uncertainty, but the reality is that it is here to stay, for a while. However, I always prefer looking for opportunities during difficult times. My analysis is simple. People who have interests in Pakistan fall into two categories. The first is made up of those people who can survive, even thrive, on what they have established outside Pakistan. They can be as worried as they like and it might actually make sense for them to disinvest from the land of the pure. This is the group with an option. For people who don’t belong to the first category, for people whose present and future is linked to Pakistan, all I can say is that they are in for quite a journey. For them, to stop investing is tantamount to shooting themselves in the foot as their future is cemented to the future of the country.
The last recession has taught us that consumers don’t stop spending in difficult times. It is the way they spend that changes.
Let us avoid the trap of accepting things because we are in Pakistan. Let us do things better than people do anywhere else. Let us win creative awards through speculative work. Let us create marketing case studies through original thinking. Let us make the best of twenty eleven. Being depressed is no fun. Let us treat the conditions around us as a challenge. If you can’t find inspiration around you, become the inspiration.
No comments:
Post a Comment