I attended a presentation recently by an economist from Moodys.com who spoke with great confidence that the Great Recession actually ended last August and that the national economy is now in a period of growth.

Feeling better? Maybe not.  Most polls suggest that Americans continue to feel the economy is in recession and they are cautious about the future.  It seems most people will need to see a lot more evidence of recovery before they actually believe it.  Perhaps this proves that hoary management saw about boiled frogs.  You know, the one where the management guru tells you that if you throw a frog into boiling water it will struggle to get out, but if you put a frog in cool water and slowly turn up the heat, the frog will passively boil to death (has anybody actually conducted this experiment?).  This anecdote is usually the prelude to senior managers doing something really stupid.  But, hey, you don’t want to be a boiled frog, do you?

The point is, people tend to think the state they are in is the state in which they will remain. In the frothy days of the US economy five years ago, plenty of people thought permanent economic growth was a certainty.  OK, that didn’t turn out so well, but conversely, recessions aren’t forever either.  This one is probably over—at least from a technical standpoint—even if no one’s singing “Happy Days Are Here Again.”

Assuming the state you’re in will not change can be dangerous.  Obviously, you might miss warning signs, but conversely, you might miss opportunities. Successful businesses listen to their customers constantly—to spot weaknesses, opportunities, and threats—and understand that change is constant.  A sound program of market research can help you make sure the state your business is in is the state you want it to be in.