In this video, I revisit a key idea from Field Tips: What are you seeing out there? Business owners are always asking what’s happening in other companies, how customers are responding, and whether the economy feels up or down.

When I wrote this book, we had just come through a major recession. Sales dropped, businesses closed, and many companies experienced significant declines. But there were bright spots. The operations that performed best worked smarter, focused on efficiency, and understood that profitability matters just as much as sales.

What I saw then—and still see today—is that the most profitable companies remain strong before, during, and after downturns. Wherever you are, now is the new normal. Don’t focus on the past. What matters is building productivity and profitability now.