Italicized items can be filled in by you the reader

Dear Recession,

The two years that you have been in my life have been the most unstable and yet transformative that our business/organization/department has ever seen (our balance sheet was particularly shocked by your arrival).

When I first heard of you in 2007, I figured that after years of banks and mortgage brokers gorging themselves on unqualified homebuyers, you were just paying them a visit to make amends. Next, when I heard the talking heads on television warning me to stop shopping, I thought it was a scare tactic. It took the near collapse of the auto industry to convince me I was mistaken. I quickly realized you were not particularly selective and further how much the world economy was interdependent.

As soon as 2008, my funding/customers/clients began to fall away. When a grant that was cut off/account who couldn’t afford us anymore/partner going out of business, we began to feel your wrath. First we had to make amends by cutting expenses, pretty soon we were cutting jobs. The swiftness of it all caught me so off guard that I think I failed to lead where I should have, bringing my business/organization/department further into the hole.

With cash flow at a minimum and a dozen or so of my staff members gone, you got me thinking. I mean really reflecting. I started to ask myself questions I hadn’t thought about since I took the helm of this operation. What is it that we do best? What value do we provide our customers and distributors/partners? Why do we do business? How are we going to sell/operate?

This thinking quickly propelled me into a week-long period of sleepless nights, research and maddening note taking… It took my husband/wife/partner pointing out to me that I hadn’t been this excited in years. That’s when it hit me…I was actually planning for the future! I had been so taken up in my success over the last 10+ years that I forgot to do what got our business/organization/department here to begin with… plan for the future!

There is a Spanish song called “Me Asustas, Pero Me Gustas.” (This translates to “You Scare Me, But I Like You.”) I never thought I’d say this about such a difficult time for our business/organization/department, but this has been a hidden blessing. I have realized that no matter how successful I become, I less not forget the importance of setting goals, adapting to change and strategizing for our future.