Marketing in a downturn economy poses a bevy of potential threats to the executive of today. The potential for marketing (and leaders in general) has undoubtedly taken on a new meaning in an economy that has been increasingly described as being tanked. One premise of this article is to offer some hope for today's executives as well as organizational leaders as they attempt to navigate the permanent white water that Peter Vaill described in 1996. This article attempts to offer some additional perspectives related to marketing in a downturn economy.

The uncertain times we are fac- ing today may be analogous to the state of permanent white water – as stated by Peter Vaill (1996) – marked by "five intertwining characteristics of what I have been calling permanent white water that taken together capture the feel of permanent white water conditions" (p. 10).

The state of permanent white water or an environment of continuous turbulent change described by Vaill may offer some valuable insights regarding turbulent times that many of the organizations (and people of the organizations) have experienced and these types of problems may not be new to many organizational leaders. One must posit the question of how one successfully conducts business while constantly facing situations that are highly uncertain. It should be noted that conditions regarding permanent white water appear to blindside the organizational leaders. However, there is still some resemblance of organizational control even in the situations Vaill describes above. The current economic times may require different and proactive responses since many of the caveats associated with the new troubled times appear to be outside of the control of the today's managers. Not only do the permanent white water particulars have to be effectively dealt with on the organizational level but the global economic downturn may produce climates and situations that could never be imagined – this scenario may require differing organizational postures regarding how the organizational leaders manage uncertainty from differing sources.

The Webster's New Universal Unabridged Dictionary defines turbulence as a "condition of being turbulent." There are two entries for the word turbulent: "full of commotion or disturbance" and "marked by widely irregular motion." Alfie Morgan (2001) in Strategic Leadership says that "turbulence is a set of conditions or the state of a world characterized by commotion, disturbance, agitation, disorder, and widely irregular motion." A review of these six traits reveals a common theme: turbulence equals an environment of instability and uncertainty. It is during moments of crisis that the genuine authentic traits of effective leadership are revealed and in the same regard, bad leadership is exposed.

Effective Executive Magazine, Universal Unabridged Dictionary, Leadership Strategies, Global Economic Downturn, US Financial Crisis, Organizational Postures, Strategic Leadership, Organizational Leadership, Organizational Leaders, Theoretical Implications, Relationship Management.