Change Management During Economic Downturn

💡 Can Technology Light Up Our World? I came across the Liter of Light project again this week — a plastic bottle, some water, and sunlight — and suddenly, darkness disappears. It’s one of those ideas that feels too simple to be real. No wires. No batteries. Just light, refracted through clarity. The project began in the Philippines and has since spread across the world — turning discarded bottles into skylights for homes, classrooms, and communities. 100% sustainable. Accessible. Affordable. And human at its core. I’ve been thinking about it ever since. Because in my world, innovation usually starts with GPUs, data, and billion-dollar labs. But this one started with scarcity — and still managed to create abundance. That contrast says something uncomfortable about how we define progress. Maybe innovation isn’t about building smarter systems. Maybe it’s about remembering why we build at all. When you design from limits, you see the world differently: → You question assumptions instead of adding features. → You focus on purpose, not performance. → You create tools that return power, not just use it. Here’s what this mindset looks like in practice: ✅ Reimagine the problem. Ask “What’s essential?” before “What’s possible?” ✅ Design for access. If it doesn’t reach the edges of society, it’s not innovation. ✅ Teach simplicity. Complexity might impress people — but simplicity empowers them. But here’s the deeper layer most people miss 👇 → Scarcity doesn’t limit innovation — it purifies it. When you have less, you’re forced to confront what truly matters. → Constraint breeds clarity. It removes everything unnecessary until only truth remains. → Simplicity scales trust. The fewer dependencies a design has, the more universally it works. That’s why Liter of Light feels so profound to me. It’s not just about sustainability — it’s about subtractive intelligence. It shows that the smartest ideas don’t add complexity; they restore perspective. To me, this is the real frontier of technology — not artificial intelligence, but applied empathy. 💭 What if the next breakthrough isn’t about generating more power — but learning how to share the light we already have? #InnovationWithPurpose #HumanCenteredDesign #FrugalInnovation #SubtractiveThinking #TechForGood #AIandHumanity

Constraint is the mother of innovation! It’s easy to assume innovation comes from abundance. From deep pockets. From having it all. Big companies with big R&D budgets. Major brands with their elite creative agencies. That's would make sense, right? Ironically, it's actually the opposite. True innovation thrives in constraints. It's born in the corners where resources are tight. When you can't match your competitor's wallet, you better outmatch their creativity. Limited resources force clever solutions.  They demand ingenious workarounds. They spark unconventional thinking. Look at Google's early days. Memory constraints forced them to build a search engine that ran on less than 8MB. Why? Because they needed to work on 90% of computers back then. That constraint? It pushed them to create something that would change how we access information forever. Or take Airbnb during the 2008 crash. No funding? No problem. The founders got creative - selling presidential candidate themed cereal boxes. That scrappy move kept them alive and caught media attention. IKEA's iconic identity was born from a constraint. Shipping costs were killing them. Their solution? Flat-pack furniture. A limitation transformed into an innovation that changed an industry. When you can't match your competitor's wallet, you'd better outmatch their ingenuity. Can't outspend? You navigate uncharted waters. You take calculated risks. You write new rulebooks. I've worked with hundreds of companies. The well-funded ones? Often the least innovative. At cocreatd, we encourage our founders to embrace constraints. Having less means creating more!

Sometimes the boldest ideas start with being completely broke. In 2025, French entrepreneur Dagobert Renouf faced a classic dilemma: he wanted a meaningful wedding but couldn’t afford it. Instead of going into debt or scaling back, he did something unconventional. He sold advertising space on his wedding tuxedo. He posted the idea online, set clear pricing based on logo placement, and within weeks 26 startups said yes. Companies like Comp AI, Inbox Zero, FeatherFlow and others paid to have their logos embroidered on his suit. On his wedding day, he walked down the aisle as a walking billboard for the indie hacker community. The result: Roughly $10,000 raised. After the custom suit and taxes, he walked away with a free tuxedo and about $2,000 in his pocket. What I love about this story isn’t just the creativity, it’s the mindset. Dagobert didn’t wait for perfect conditions. He didn’t ask for charity. He created a clear value exchange: visibility for the startups in exchange for support. He treated a personal milestone as a marketing opportunity without losing the joy of the day. And the community responded because the idea was bold, transparent, and fun. In a world that often rewards playing it safe, this is a reminder: Constraints can be the best catalysts for innovation. A simple, well-packaged ask can open doors you didn’t know existed. And sometimes the most memorable brand campaigns aren’t planned by agencies, they’re invented by people who simply refuse to stay stuck.

Innovation strives under constraints. Whether its cost, access to data, or access to compute, constraints have always fueled some of the most disruptive innovations. The AI stack is no exception—it’s ripe for disruption, starting at the chip level with NVIDIA challengers (like Groq, Etched and others) to alternative foundational models like Liquid AI.ai or... DeepSeek AI. This Chinese-built open-source AI model is 95% cheaper than U.S.-based competitors, presumably built for under $6 million, and performs almost on par with models from giants like OpenAI, Google, and Meta. It’s also more energy-efficient—lowering not just costs but also the environmental impact of #AI. This is a powerful signal: AI innovation is no longer the exclusive domain of big players. Smaller, nimble companies now have the tools and blueprints to build competitive models. Startups will disrupt industries with purpose-built models and novel vertical and applied AI. The pace of innovation will continue to accelerate. And its exactly why I am SO excited to be backing early-stage human centric AI startups. The lesson? You’ve got to keep innovating. In tech, standing still is not an option. And as we’ve seen time and again, constraints aren’t obstacles—they’re opportunities. The entire AI stack is up for grabs. The question is: who will seize it?

Unlimited options kill creativity. Constraints reveal it. The greatest music comes from self-imposed limitations. Brian Eno recorded "Another Green World" with limited synths and tape machines. It became a masterpiece. He created "Oblique Strategies" in 1975 with Peter Schmidt. Card-based constraints that force new creative directions. Here's how constraints boost creativity: 1. Constraints sharpen focus • Options scatter attention • Limitations force deeper exploration • You dig deeper, not wider 2. Constraints shape identity • Jack White's White Stripes: red/white/black only • Two instruments, analog tape, no bass player • Simplicity became their signature 3. Constraints drive innovation • TikTok's time limits changed songwriting forever • Choruses come earlier now • Hooks tighten, structures adapt 4. Constraints kill decision fatigue • George's 2024 research proves it • Constraints increase idea novelty • Less paralysis, more action 5. Constraints force resourcefulness • I limit myself to one instrument when producing • Or a single melodic motif • Scarcity breeds ingenuity 6. Constraints reveal what matters • Strip the excess • Core elements emerge stronger • Clarity replaces chaos 7. Constraints create memorable work • Cromwell's 2024 research shows this • Extreme limitations push new problem-solving • Memory comes from limitation, not abundance Apply this today: • Design with three colors only • Write in 50 words or less • Record with one microphone • Build with tools you already own Constraints don't limit you. They liberate you. ♻️ Share this with someone drowning in options 🔔 Follow Kabir Sehgal for frameworks that turn limits into advantages

True innovation does not add complexity. It removes it entirely. The Liter of Light project shows exactly how this works in 2026. People use 1 simple plastic bottle filled with water to light up whole communities. They place it in the roof to catch direct sunlight. The setup needs 0 electricity. It replaces darkness with immediate daylight. This contrasts sharply with how the tech industry views progress today. We obsess over massive data centers and billion-dollar budgets. We confuse complicated systems with actual intelligence. The bottle project relies on subtractive intelligence instead. It proves that constraint brings absolute clarity to design. Designing from limits needs a specific approach. You must rethink the process: → Reimagine the baseline problem before adding features. → Build for access at the outer edges of society. → Teach simplicity to equip local communities. Complicated code might impress a few investors. Simple design actually scales across the globe. The fewer dependencies a system has, the more universally it functions. When you start with less, you find out what truly matters. We do not always need a smarter algorithm. Sometimes we just need to share the resources we already have. What limitations could improve your next big project?

Cost-cutting has a bad reputation. Most leaders think layoffs are the answer. But $100K+ in savings is hiding in plain sight. I’ve led dozens of cost-reduction projects and saved companies millions. Here’s what I’ve learned: You don’t need layoffs to cut costs. The proof? Companies waste 30% of their budget long before even looking at headcount. Here’s the cost-cutting framework that saves big—without layoffs: The 4Cs of Strategic Cost Reduction: 1/ Cancel: ↳ Audit unused tools, licenses, and low-ROI expenses. ↳ Cut what doesn't deliver 2/ Consolidate: ↳ Merge overlapping tools, processes, or contracts. ↳ One tool, one vendor, one contract 3/ Control: ↳ Create spending guardrails: limits, approvals, and audits. ↳ Track expenses over $500 to stop leaks early. 4/ Collaborate: ↳ Use fractional experts or outsourcing for specialized work. ↳ Pay for outcomes, not hours. 10 Proven Tactics to Cut Costs and Save Big: 1/ Audit Quarterly Subscriptions 2/ Renegotiate Vendor Contracts 3/ Reimagine Office Space 4/ Simplify Tech Stack 5/ Audit Marketing Spend 6/ Extend Payment Terms 7/ Automate Manual Tasks 8/ Use Fractional Experts 9/ Tighten Expense Policies 10/ Focus on High-Impact Areas The truth about strategic cost-cutting? You can save more by optimizing systems than By cutting your greatest asset—your people. What’s your favorite tactic—or what would you add? ♻️Share to help other leaders And follow Mariya Valeva for more

Case Study: How a snacks business went from 80 staff to profitable by doing… less?! Here’s what happened: We once had a client with a roaring snacks business (especially during Chinese New Year). The business did so well, he quit his job, raised capital from his family, bought machinery and launched 3 different product lines all at once! When he came to us then, we gave him some unpopular advice: Freeze the other 2 lines. Focus just on the 1 brand that’s already working. Thankfully, he listened. We then proceeded to build his brand story, map out a market growth strategy and revamp the packaging. The product hit the shelves, sales climbed and business boomed. At his peak, he had 80 staff and was flying high. Then we lost touch. 2 years later, he called me out of the blue to catch up and that’s when the ugly truth came out: “𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘭 𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘥,” he said. Because for the last 2 years, his sales team had been celebrating massive “sell-in” numbers, i.e. the number of products getting onto supermarket shelves. But the numbers that really mattered were the “sell-throughs”, i.e. amount of products consumers actually bought. Everything unsold would be returned and those returns? They were bleeding him dry. So he made a brutal pivot: He let go of his internal sales team, handed logistics over to an external distributor and focused on what he knew best: Manufacturing & OEM. But the bleeding wasn’t just financial; it was operational too. Managing 80 people was draining his soul. “It was draining walking into the office every morning. Just endless fire-fighting and chasing people to see if they actually did their jobs!” His solution: Downsize radically and rebuild the business around a culture of extreme accountability by establishing a strict SOP. Every single employee - from HOD downwards - now had a daily checklist: At 8:00 AM every day, they reported what was achieved yesterday and what will be done today. If there’s no report, it’s assumed the work wasn’t done. And if you don’t consistently report, you’re let go. This applied even in the situation of the forklift driver - everyone told him he couldn’t fire the forklift driver because despite the problems he caused, he was the only one who knew how to drive a forklift! Our client fired him anyway. Then asked his neighbour to send 1-2 skilled drivers to teach his team how to drive a forklift. Today, he has 4 competent forklift drivers. His company is also highly profitable, stable and growing. In business, we are conditioned to believe that a bigger headcount and a bigger top-line means you are winning. But a massive kingdom you can’t control is a disaster waiting to happen. Some headaches just aren’t worth it. 😉 ♻️ Reshare this post if it resonates. 🔔 Follow me Long Yun Siang for more raw reflections on advertising, career and entrepreneurship that I learned the hard way (so you don’t have to!).

Economic headwinds regularly disrupt advisory demand, but boutique consultancies rarely fail purely because of market contraction. They fail due to delayed management action. When macro conditions soften, corporate client spending shifts rather than vanishes. Buyers pivot away from discretionary growth initiatives towards cost reduction, risk mitigation, and immediate operational efficiency. Boutique leaders can safeguard equity value and operational runway by executing six discipline-driven adjustments. • Audit client vulnerability: Map your top accounts against specific macroeconomic shocks such as interest rate persistence, supply chain friction, and inflation. Direct client conversations regarding their internal pipeline risks often reveal where delivery teams can pivot existing projects toward immediate defensive needs. • Execute operational cuts early: Delayed restructuring erodes capital reserves. If cost reductions become necessary, execute them in a single decisive phase. Repeated, incremental rounds of redundancies undermine firm morale and prolong internal uncertainty. • Tighten working capital controls: Monitor Lockup (Work-in-Progress plus Days Sales Outstanding) weekly. Tighten commercial payment terms, enforce milestones, and maintain a cash buffer covering three to six months of operating expenditure to avoid reliance on expensive debt. • Reframe the value proposition: Reposition current services around explicit financial returns and defensive outcomes. In a downturn, procurement teams prioritize projects that yield quantifiable efficiency over long-term strategic transformation. • Protect existing account revenue: The cost of acquiring new clients increases substantially during market contractions. Focus senior partner capacity on deepening current client relationships, as account expansion remains the most cost-effective revenue source during a downturn. • Maintain market visibility: Suspending marketing expenditure during a contraction degrades share of voice. Continuous publication of sector-specific insight positioning your firm's problem-solving capabilities ensures faster recovery as demand stabilizes. • Retain core delivery capability: Reduce overheads, but preserve top-tier delivery talent. Releasing experienced consultants destroys institutional knowledge that is difficult and costly to replace during the subsequent recovery phase. Boutique consultancies that combine disciplined working capital management with targeted proposition realignments maintain profitability through downturns and capture market share as competitors retreat. Reference: Gulati, R., Nohria, N. and Wohlgezogen, F. (2010) 'Roaring out of a recession', Harvard Business Review, 88(3), pp. 62-69.

Jane Chen faced a problem most would consider impossible: premature babies dying because life-saving equipment was out of reach. Chen took a different path that changed everything: She reframed the challenge from an access problem to a design problem. Instead of asking "How do we get hospitals expensive equipment?" she asked "What if we rethink what the equipment needs to be?" That shift changed everything. Her team at Embrace abandoned traditional incubator designs completely. No electricity requirements. No complex machinery. No dependence on hospital infrastructure. They created a portable infant warmer that could function anywhere - in homes, clinics, rural areas without power. The design matched the actual conditions where babies needed help, not the ideal conditions of Western hospitals. Here's what most leaders miss when they face impossible constraints: Adding more resources rarely solves the problem. Getting ruthlessly clear on what actually matters does. Chen succeeded because she identified the real constraint. It wasn't money. It wasn't technology. It was the assumption that solutions had to look like what already existed. When you get clear on the right constraint, every decision becomes easier. Your team stops debating and starts building. Resources align. Progress accelerates. This is how breakthrough solutions happen. Not through more analysis or bigger budgets. Through the discipline of asking the right question. The best leaders don't solve complex problems by adding complexity. They solve them by finding clarity that cuts through the noise. Want to develop the clarity muscle that turns impossible problems into breakthrough solutions? Listen to the Lead In 30 podcast where I break down practical frameworks like this every week: https://lnkd.in/d_-Knwhy