May I wish all of you a somewhat belated "Happy New Year" for 2009.

Although the coming year is likely to be challenging for many of us given the current economic climate, the New Year will almost certainly herald opportunities as well as the much anticipated difficulties: being alert to the possibilities in your particular markets will differentiate your organization from your competitors and can often result in a meaningful advantage in tight fiscal conditions.

Nonetheless, identifying an opportunity is only the first part of the process and many organizations fail to capitalize on otherwise excellent foresight through a lack of organizational agility. One significant constraint is expertize: with cost restraint and departmental downsizing being the "order of the day", many companies find themselves ill-equipped to take advantage of favourable situations and can even find themselves struggling to meet the day-to-day needs of the business. This is where hiring experts on short-term contracts can pay dividends.

Hiring consultants or contractors on an ad hoc basis is a cost effective way of plugging internal resource and expertize gaps as well as providing your organization with a flexible and adaptable workforce. There are also financial benefits to this type of arrangement, not least, reduced training costs, pension arrangements, vehicle and fuel considerations, etc.

It's worth bearing in mind that a poorly managed project is often just as disastrous for a company as a missed opportunity. Building a relationship with third-party organizations that provide the necessary expertize and agility to take advantage of opportunities as they present themselves is an essential investment for any organization in such times as we find ourselves.

Let's hope that 2009 is a year of opportunity for us all.