What Did I Learn From The Crisis?

Ahmet Zorlu understood the importance of making a cold-blooded evaluation of the crisis. Erman Ilıcak, the young boss of Rönesans Holding, learned that not everybody can win at the same time. The most important lesson Abdülkadir Konukoğlu learned from the crisis is “growth through pruning”. Like these examples of businessmen, many bosses and professionals have learned important lessons from this crisis. Here are those lessons.

Philip Kotler explained what one must not do when a crisis comes knocking in his book entitled “According to Kotler”. He believes that, in a crisis, one should never cut back on spending in a way that will damage the brand, nor reduce prices but pursue aggressive marketing policies. Like Kotler, many famous executives and bosses from the business world have learned important lessons from crises. Here are their responses, which are like lessons in themselves:

“We Cannot Be Isolated From The World”
Mehmet Ali Aydınlar is head of the Acıbadem Health Group. It is the biggest player in the health sector. Aydınlar says as: “The crisis did not teach me new things. But it did confirm what I already knew.” He summarizes the important points he has taken from the crisis as follows: “In our globalised world, the crisis demonstrated the importance of us all cleaning our own streets, thinking of every dimension in everything we do and trying to do it as well as possible. We cannot isolate ourselves from the rest of the world.”

“We Saw That Money Is King”
CSA Holding Board Chairman Ali Abalıoğlu says: “In the crisis we learned once again the importance of cash.” Abalıoğlu describes the lessons that he learned from economic developments as follows: “The crisis once again confirmed the importance of cash, risk analysis and being conservative. Companies which can remain liquid can survive the crisis with little damage and be more competitive in the subsequent period of growth. Now, like in every crisis, it is very important to stay liquid. I mean, money is king.”

“The War Takes Place On The Battlefield”
Mehmet Nane is Teknosa General Manager. He summarizes what he learned from the crisis and the action plan he implemented as follows: “The crisis taught us to take greater ownership of the work we do. We understood the need to look at our business procedures. We need to hit 3-5 birds with one stone. For that reason, we need figures and knowledge even more.”

“It Taught Us To Be Close To The Customer”
Hakan Kodal’s name has become synonymous with the position of general manager of Yapı Kredi Koray, a post he has held for nine years. Two years ago he wanted to start his own business and established Krea. Kodal explains what he learned from the crisis as follows: “The crisis made selectivity and the right planning more important. One of the most important things we learned from the crisis was to be close to the consumer. It is very important to monitor changing consumer trends in the crisis accurately and adjust strategies according to them.”

Ayçe Tarcan Aksakal
aaksakal@capital.com.tr