It is interesting to watch how companies go through growth and efficiency cycles and how that changes behavior internally. In many companies big ticket projects have a lot of financial scrutiny in times where efficiency (cost reduction) is king and secondary when the company is in a growth mode and many initiatives become "strategic". Most managers tend to hold off on their pet projects until growth times instead of facing the scrutiny of the CFO when all spend is being monitored. In recent years many industries experienced great growth, massive investment in infrastructure is taking place and huge structure changes are shaping up from industry consolidation to international expansion. The economy is on a tear. This was visible in metals, oil & gas, real estate, telecom and others. Many of these projects have the strategic intent of the CEO behind them as their main fuel. Most will not be great investments. As this holds true in entire economies and it certainly is visible in companies. Corrections will happen and tough questions get asked about value of past investments, returns or lack thereof. And the cycle continues. In my work I see companies in different industries co-exist where one is in a growth mode and one is in cost containment. Going from one meeting to another is like crossing some wormhole between parallel universes where each company would find the other's management totally out of touch with reality. One group launching projects one after another, integrating acquisitions while the other group is shutting down factories and downsizing. All in the same day. The same year. The same country.
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