For the past month I have been working with NFi Studios at their downtown Orlando office. As with any city, Orlando has homeless people who beg for money. Yesterday I was approached by two such fellows, though by their dress I’m not sure if they were homeless, but they asked for money nonetheless. I told them that I didn’t carry cash so I couldn’t help them out.

I haven’t carried physical money for quite sometime. There are many reasons for this, chief among them is that credit cards are convenient to use, and if stolen, can be easily replaced with little to no fault if the thief goes on a buying spree. Using a credit card and paying it back in a timely fashion also helps to build your credit, or so I’m told.

The aforementioned folks got me thinking to the events of the past two years, and how I’ve seen the world of business and software change. With the economic meltdown, entire industries – finance, automotive, many more – have been shaken to their cores.

I remembered the past meeting of an entrepreneur group I attend. One attendee told us she has been unemployed for months, had gone back to school after she was laid off, and is desperately looking for employment, and trying to figure out her next move. She has a certificate in HR. I don’t know if HR is the best place to look for a job right now.

Things are changing my friends, big time. We need to take stock, see where things are going, and align ourselves with that flow, determining where we can add true value.

So, what are you doing to set your company up for an industry shakeup? Do you have your metrics in place? Forecasting? Are you reading everything you can get your hands on? Talking with anyone you can listen to? Facing brutal facts?

Don’t end up with your hand out, only to find that the person you are asking has nothing to give.