Looking for ideas about how to help your organization thriveduring the downturn? AndrewRazeghi, a lecturer at the Kellogg School ofManagement at Northwestern, has posted a thoughtful essay oninnovating in a recession.  Razeghi combinesuseful tips with examples of companiesthat prospered during past downturns, including the GreatDepression.

Readers of management thinker JimCollins are probably familiar with theidea of having not just a to-do list but also a “stop doing list” that helps you free up time and energy to focus on your priorities — an idea Collins mentioned in his best-selling book Good to Great. 

One of the ideas Razeghi suggests in his essay is aninteresting variation on a stop doing list: Hold a “stop doingcontest” for your organization, inviting employees and vendors tosubmit ideas about how to save your organization money by makingprocess improvements or reducing expenses,  without cuttingjobs.  “Lean on them — your vendors and your employees —to help you not only survive, but to thrive during these times,”writes Razeghi.  It’s an interesting application of the“stop doing” concept — to gain new ideas for operationalefficiencies.

Here’s Razeghi’s essay: