Do you want to make a splash on the bottom line of your company?  Would you like to implement a change to improve productivity or reduce expenses?  Take a look at your inter-departmental interactions.  Maybe you can produce some leverage just by collaborating with a peer in another department.<!--more-->

Imagine what would happen if the Director of Information Technology spent some time helping the Director of Finance or HR?  Rather than telling them "No" all of the time, ask for an hour to see how your department can improve service to your internal customers or stakeholders.  Can you assist with some process improvement?  Maybe you can make a minor change to a time-recording system that will help the Finance team do their jobs easier.  You might be able to do something to help Operations with the trouble-management system.

When you improve one person's job you impact the bottom line and fight back against the every-man-for-himself tendencies that appear in an economic downturn.  Every time you give something to someone, you create value - sort of person a gross domestic product (GDP).  The only way out o the downturn is to increase the GDP.  You may only be one person, but when you increase your output you increase your value.

Look at it as your contribution.  Be part of the solution.  Give someone something extra today!