MWC - Day Two

I'm confused. Seriously confused. Either that, or everyone is telling porkies. You read the papers and all the headlines talk of doom and gloom. But today I've asked everyone of my clients how business is; how are they coping in the maelstrom that is the world economic meltdown.

Well, apparently, very well thank you very much.

The consistent answer seems to be that business is still strong. The sales cycle may be a bit longer, but fundamentally business is still good.

But then on the other hand, everyone is preparing for the worst. Being cautious with expenditure Battening down the hatches for a stormy year ahead.

So is what we read in the papers real? Or is it just a media invented storm? Of course it's real (very real if you're a banker) but the way in which it is contaminating the rest of the economy seems to be as much mental as anything else. Confidence is shot. Everyone is told to expect a meltdown so they trim expenditure. And guess what, reduced spending means we end up with ... yep ... the promised meltdown.

Maybe it just is that telecoms is a bit protected from turbulence. The industry had its own recession only a few years ago so is already relatively lean. The mobile phone is no longer a luxury, but instead an essential. And as one client put it, whatever the state of the economy three things will remain intact ... health care, petrol (hell, even at $150 we still filled our cars) and the need for people to communicate.

So, if it is a case of "I'm alright Jack" ... just make sure you keep communicating it, because then we'll all end up OK. Or drinking petrol from a hospital bed.