Chip Hornsby, CEO of Wolseley plc, recently spoke at the National Association for Wholesaler-Distributors executive summit about Managing in Today’s Turbulent Economic Environment. In his speech, he offered five concepts executives need to live by in order to address looming questions brought about by today’s economic uncertainty.
Realism: Clearly identify problems for what they are and immediately assess them for the damage they potentially can cause.
Fortitude: “Do what has to be done to deal head-on with our business problems, no matter how unpleasant.”
Proactivity: “Address issues early, directly, and often.”
Perseverance: “See problems all the way through to solution, especially now, when the trough seems very deep and the endpoint seems far away.”
Resilience: “This business cycle will require resilience – the ability to adapt and adjust to extremely challenging circumstances.”
Executives at Wolseley have certainly had plenty of opportunity to exercise these concepts in the last year – from concerns over how to manage continued heavy losses from U.S.-based Stock Building Supply to how to respond to deteriorating housing market conditions in the U.K.
Most recently Wolseley confirmed that it is considering issuing new equity in response to mounting debt. (Read the story.)
Read Hornsby’s full speech from NAW.
UPDATE: Wolseley Looks to Exit Stock Building Supply Business“