After a couple of meetings with the top executives of banks and non-bank institutions, I noticed that they have all arrived at some sort of consensus that they would continue to do business but with a lot more caution. Almost everyone expects that balance sheets in real sector will be smaller very soon.
Another thing that came to my attention that those who have been quite conservative in banking or real sector affairs are all saying in unison, “You did nothing but to criticise me constantly. I hope, today, you will admit that I was right…”
No one can deny the fact that those who chose to be cautious have been harshly criticised back then. But apparently, cutting their coats according to their clothes has helped these cautious people avoid great losses today. Businesses today should be as much careful about how to set priorities and how to finance them as how to use capital and prepare financial statement. Also, companies’ management structure, whether they are engaged in exports, their export markets and product range, their decision systems, human resources, type of interaction with the customer, their approach to the latest technology and digitalization have become key criteria when making an overall assessment of a successful business.
“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger…”
It looks like the difficulties we will soon have to go through will help us keep going no matter what. People have already started to realize that collaterals received in time of crisis were just not enough to cover their debts; the real collateral that should pay off their debt is in fact the abovementioned features I mentioned above.
Accordingly, I strongly believe that Turkey is capable of overcoming challenges through a thought revolution. It appears like, very soon, we will enter a solution process just like we did back in 1994 ve 2001 when all the outdated components and systems had all faded into history. Maybe, this new situation will spread even to public sector, making ‘value creation’ top priority.
I highly expect that soon-to-be-implemented performance appraisal in public sector will bring about groundbreaking changes. I just hope this performance appraisal will involve “export-centrism” as number one priority.
