What I Learned from the Big, Bad 2008 Recession

That was one bad recession. As an Austin based Executive Search Firm, all signals look like the USA is finally pulling out of it.

My sector tends to be a great barometer for measuring economic health. In a very robust year for my firm and the economy, if we receive one new executive search per month, that is a great year.

Examples come to mind. In 2005, while the economy was in overdrive, we completed 19 searches. In 2008, we completed just 6 executive searches. That 2008 pattern persisted in 2009 and 2010. It was ugly.

Thus far in 2012, we have been very fortunate to have received 5 new searches since the first of the year! If this trend continues, 2012 could be a very good, memorable year from an economic point of view.

Assuming that the worst recession in my lifetime is over, there were many lessons learned from a personal point of view:

1) I am not my job. I am more than that. I am a Husband, Father, Son, Brother and good Friend to others. All parts of my life do not have to be perfect to be a happy person.

2) I count my blessings. I have my health and my spouse and children are happy. I pay my bills and save and have a very good life that is worth living. I make a difference.

3) Don’t take business downturns personal. It is about the economy. If my clients could work with me and they have a special need to, they will work with me.

4) Business trauma is a recipe for re-invention. That is how Salvatore Balistreri Consulting was started. The bad economy forced me to do some serious thinking about change and doing what I do, better.

5) My family does not love me due to my W-2. They were supportive, loyal, loving in 2005, 2008 and 2012. It does not matter what income I make.

I hope all of my valued readers of this blog are starting to pull out of the big, bad recession of 2008. I also hope you learned something valuable about yourself after experiencing this awful economic challenge of our generation.

2017-07-15T02:06:09-05:00By sbalistreri|Austin Executive Search Firms|

“As a search committee member, we selected Sal's firm to help us with a key CEO search. They made the process painless both for the candidates and our search committee. We made the right choice and Sal's team delivered.”

Michael Bennett, Head of the APRO Search Committee, APRO Search Committee

“Sal specializes in executive search and has delivered some outstanding results for Silvercar. He has assembled a great team and they conduct searches the way it should be done – from scratch! He understands the importance of not only finding the right skill set, but also finding the right cultural match. He does his homework before he starts and does it well. Sal has jumped through hoops for me and delivered great results. He provides personalized service from start to finish and won’t stop until you are satisfied. I highly recommend that you consider Sal and his team for your next search.”

Kay Stroman, Former Chief Administrative Officer, Silvercar

“Sal was definitely a huge asset in our recruiting efforts. He spent a lot of time getting to know our culture and understanding the values that were essential to the makeup of of our team. Sal is a great partner and I certainly recommend him and his firm to anyone looking to recruit a great team. You will not be disappointed!”

Craig Taylor, Former CEO, Cirrus Systems

“Sal clearly understands the culture of the client and clearly understands the REAL person behind the candidate. This allows him to best match clients and candidates because he sees beyond their words and understands their real talents and value systems. Sal also has the ability to present a candidate because he is committed to her/him and their talents and values they could bring to the job. He is even MORE committed to the client’s analysis of the candidate so that he learns from any rejection of a candidate in order to fine-tune the search for the next better candidate.”

Vickey Thayer Kleinsmith, Former Vice President Human Resources, Lozier Corporation

“I appreciate the fact that Sal takes not only the job requirements into account, but he also considers culture and “fit”. These are rare and valuable traits for a recruiter and that is one of the many reasons that we love working with Sal.”

Debbie Mitchell, President/CEO, Velocity Credit Union

“Sal is able to communicate our company culture and organic growth strategy and along with his high level of responsiveness, is a great partner to work with.”

Karen Ganzlin, Former Chief Human Resources Officer, TD Ameritrade

"Sal and his team are awesome partners in our success. His team has taken the time to become part of our team so that they understand the "fit" component of our hiring process that includes the mission, vision and values and most importantly, our culture."

Scotte Hudsmith, Chairman & CEO , Specialized Dental Partners

“Consider Sal if you need a recruiter for key management positions and C-Level searches. Sal is very focused on finding the right person for the right position. He produces solid candidates across a variety of industries and will personally work with his clients to help them achieve success in hiring. He is a seasoned expert, well networked and very responsive.”

Kurt Halvorson, President, Imprimis, LLC

“Sal and his team offered a great process with a very good long term result for Lozier. It was a process made easy for our team to meet all the candidates in a short period of time and come to a conclusion.”

Sheri Andrews, Co-Chair, Lozier Corporation

“Sal is one of those rare business executives who truly believes in the power of ‘doing well by doing good.’ He is generous to a fault with his time and his network. He spends his professional capital to help others in his community with no eye towards personal gain.”

Cat Nawawi, President, The Highland Group

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