New ideas, transformative innovations, and bold thinking don’t die in recessionary times – in fact, a downturn is often the starting point for big ideas. Companies such as Burger King, Microsoft, CNN, and FedEx all started up during recessions.

Given the new economic volatility, shrieking stock market headlines, and the reappearance of a sense of dread in the corporate world, it’s probably a good time to rethink your focus. Are you stuck in a mindset of doom and gloom, watching the market and economic volatility? Or are you thinking about economic growth and opportunity?

Conventional wisdom would suggest we’d better hunker down, scale back, slow down, take it easy, be cautious, reduce spending, defer our actions, wait it out, take things slow, and put things on pause. But history tells us that doesn't work - because those who choose to opt out of any potential recession are those who win.

Data from the 2001 and 2008 economic downturns prove that the long-term winners are those who chose not to participate in the downturn! It seems simple but is pretty critical – when uncertainty stares you in the face, double down on innovation and transformation, and refocus on the long-term view! During the 2008-09 global economic meltdown, ‘winners’ grew at a 17% compound annual growth rate during the downturn compared to 0% among the ‘losers.’ And those ‘winners’ locked in gains of 13% CAGR in the years after the downturn compared to the ‘losers’ stalling at 1%.

In other words, by opting out of the common narrative – ‘it’s a recession, cut back, hunker down and make sure you ride it out – and by choosing instead to go into the future full throttle, those winners emerged much better positioned for that future.

Futurist and innovation expert Jim Carroll shares these and other critical lessons, along with specific strategic guidance, on how to double down on growth during times of volatility. It's battle-tested, stage-proven insight - he delivered hundreds of keynotes on this very topic post-2001 and post-2008 to organizations eager to choose a path to growth. History proves they listened to his insight.