From the Great Depression of the 30s, the boom post World War II, the stagflation of the 70s, the property booms of the 90s and the dotcom bust, through to the mining boom and today's global recession, the economy is in a constant cycle of feast and famine.

By cleverly conserving energy during long droughts, desert flowers equip themselves to spring to life and replenish resources when the rains arrive. The desert contains many example of how to handle extremes in demand economically and sustainably.

To succeed in the long-term, businesses must be equipped with systems that enable them to rapidly scale up or down with market demand. In tough times, scaling back inevitable involves cutting costs and reducing headcount. However, like desert plants, it is critical to ensure that core business systems are maintained to the point where they are able to bounce back in good times.