Downturn Thrive Loop
Turn adverse markets into a cycle of reinvention and disciplined action.
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Time to result
- ~months to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 94%
Start by framing an adverse market as a challenge that demands action, not as a reason to wait for normal conditions to return. Find the parts of the operation that have become complacent, then decide how the business must evolve. Develop techniques that fit the changed environment and pair them with a daily standard of showing up and executing. Kenerson connects this combination of positivity, reinvention, and sustained drive with Lending Hand's growth during both the housing crisis and the more recent mortgage downturn. The output is a more capable operating model that seeks growth through adversity rather than depending on a market recovery.
Origin
Kevin Kenerson described how Lending Hand grew during two difficult mortgage markets by staying positive, evolving, and maintaining its drive. Extracted from Coffeez for Closers.
Core principles
- 01Adversity is a prompt to evolve rather than wait.
- 02Positivity supports action when it is paired with reinvention.
- 03New techniques matter only when the team shows up consistently.
- 04Complacency is dangerous during both growth and contraction.
How to run it
- 1
Accept the challenge
Treat the adverse market as the operating reality and decide that the team will act within it. Use a positive frame to direct effort rather than deny the difficulty.
Pro tip Define thriving in observable business terms before changing tactics.
Watch out Positivity without operational change is not a downturn strategy.
- 2
Expose complacency
Review where the business is relying on old conditions, comfortable routines, or passive demand. Name the areas that must improve.
Watch out Do not wait for the market to restore an approach that no longer works.
- 3
Reinvent the approach
Create techniques that fit the current environment and strengthen how the team competes. Focus the changes on actions the business controls.
Pro tip Build from existing relationship strengths instead of changing everything at once.
- 4
Install the daily drive
Translate the new approach into a consistent standard for showing up and doing the work. Make execution difficult for competitors to match through discipline rather than a single burst of effort.
Pro tip Review controllable activities daily and business outcomes over a longer period.
Watch out Sustained execution should not require permanently destructive working hours.
- 5
Measure growth through adversity
Check whether the changed techniques and consistent execution are improving the business during the downturn. Keep evolving rather than allowing early progress to become new complacency.
In the wild
Kenerson said Lending Hand performed well during the 2008-2012 housing crisis and again during the difficult market of the previous couple of years. He attributed that record to staying positive, refusing complacency, evolving, creating new techniques, and showing up with a drive competitors could not match.
→ He said the company grew and thrived during periods when many others did not do well.
A service agency facing lower inbound demand stops waiting for leads to return. It identifies passive prospecting as the complacent habit, develops a focused referral campaign, sets a daily outreach standard, and reviews qualified conversations each week.
→ The team tests whether changed execution can create growth without relying on a market rebound.
Common mistakes
Waiting for the market
A passive team leaves its results dependent on conditions it cannot control.
Treating positivity as the whole plan
A positive attitude must lead to changed techniques and consistent execution to affect performance.
Recreating unsustainable overwork
Kenerson also described losing memories of his daughter as a baby during a period of extreme hours, so thriving should not be equated with permanent exhaustion.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for established teams facing a market contraction while still having room to improve their execution.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal when optimism is being used to ignore insolvency, structural failure, or the personal cost of unsustainable hours.
From the transcript
“let's not stay complacent let's evolve let's get better”
“we're going to thrive through the through the downturn”
“let's just create a drive that no one else can match and show up each and every day”
From the episode
Lending a Hand ft. Kevin Kenerson
Kevin Kenerson