Apples with Apples
At the risk of being accused of being naive I suggest the following:-
In the same way as I quietly questioned the wisdom of ordinary people borrowing 125% of the value of their houses in the recents past, I often wonder why our gallant leaders expect a year on year improvement in our performance even if we have just had a spectacular record year.
What value are all the figures telling us that we're X% below 'targets' based on a year that broke all previous numbers? Even without a recession we are going to stop beating previous years at some stage aren't we??
Surely, we are now in 'survival' mode and we can stop comparing ourselves to records made in different times. Check the product, keep the team together, and prepare for the coming of the 'Bull'. Don't compare the Bull with the Bear just for effect. Treat us well and we'll all go forward when the good times return won't we??