As I summarized in my First Thoughts column last week, we have no shortage of ideas from consultants, vendors and others about various ideas on how to manage supply chain and logistics during the current economic recession. (See: Lots of Ideas for Supply Chain in Tough Times.)

I am struck in many respects as to how the ideas for tough economic times are often just “back to basics” ideas that we tend to lose track of when times are good and
“stack it high and let it fly” is the dominating operating principle (exaggerating a bit, but hope you get the idea).

So, when I saw some ideas from human resources exec Dennis Zeleny (ex-head of HR for Honeywell and Dupont and now a consultant) on the Forbes web site, two things struck me: (1) these ideas for CEOs apply almost exactly for supply chain/logistics execs as well; and (2) most of them apply any time, not just now.

Zeleny says CEOs need to:

• Communicate continually and honestly: Yes, this probably has more urgency now, but it shouldn’t take an economic crisis to make this a core principal. If that exec culture is ingrained already, nothing actually needs to change dramatically because of the recession.

“Authenticity and frequency in communications should be your constant goal,” Zeleny says. How many supply chain execs really do that well?

• Hatch a plan based in reality: This is probably the most recession-specific recommendation. “You and your employees can make things better by taking certain actions right away, which may include redoubling efforts in areas with customers, trimming costs, expanding markets, making internal sacrifices, stepping up your training, forging new alliances and even restructuring the company,” Zeleny writes.

But, he says, don’t make promises you can’t keep, or over reach.

• Hang on to your best talent: “Even though the U.S. economy has stalled out and employment pressures have eased somewhat, the long-term reality is that there is still an underlying dearth of executive and managerial talent. This overall shortage will reassert itself once the economy begins recovering,” Zeleny says.

Don’t think you can’t lose top performers in a downturn – other companies often make changes in key positions in these times, and may come looking for your star performers.

• Act decisively: “As captain of a ship in troubled waters, you've got to be visibly and steadily at the helm,” Zeleny says. Get engaged, and be proactive.

• Alter your perspective: Take your view a bit higher to see the big picture, and/or dig into execution details to see what is really going on. “Moving around like this will help you gain valuable insights about what really might be afflicting the organization and likely will inspire ideas for improvement that otherwise never would have occurred to you,” Zeleny writes.

Good advice now for CEO and supply chain execs – and also good advice for any time.

If you have an interesting supply chain leadership story you can share, I would love to hear it.