Every economy and every enterprise at some point of their lifecycle will encounter tough times. This is the Sri Lankan ‘moment’ of  tough times, but we are not the only economy or enterprise  to have been in such a tough situation. Think Egypt, Turkey, Thailand, Bali, Kerala. So, there are a lot of learnings we can take from such economies and enterprises that have come out strong from challenging situations.

How a company responds to tough times varies. Based on MTI’s research and international experience (having worked on assignments in over 40 countries), broadly there are two types of companies – in terms of how they respond to tough times. We have called them the ‘Chop & Cripple’ companies and the ‘Trim & Fit’ companies. The names clearly reflect how they respond to tough times!

The following table demonstrates how the two types of companies respond to tough times:

MTI Corporate Finance, is the corporate finance arm of MTI Consulting, a boutique strategy consultancy with a network of associates across Asia, Africa and Middle East. MTI Corporate Finance provides a comprehensive range of services, including due diligence, feasibility studies, funding new businesses or capitalization of existing ones – from IPOs to private placement facilitation, M&A facilitation, and advisory on governance, compliances and risk management.

Photos: MTI’s Thought Leadership Team comprising CEO Hilmy Cader, India-based Darshana Buragohain and New Zealand-based Jason Cordier