If you’ve read When Growth Stalls, you understand the internal dynamics that tend to keep struggling companies down: Lack of consensus among the management team, loss of focus in the marketplace, loss of nerve (usually evidenced by how a company invests–or refrains from investing–its resources), and inconsistency.

I long ago ceased to be amazed when I saw struggling companies dealing with two, three, or even all four of these issues, as they tend to feed off one another. What still amazes me, however, is when more than one of these destructive dynamics rears its head within a single, 750-word newspaper story.

The Wall Street Journal’s October 12 column about Carrefour, the world’s second largest retailer, is a case in point. The Journal’s Ellen Byron and Christina Passariello interviewed new Carrefour CEO Lars Olofsson about the current state of affairs at the company, and published selected excerpts. Here are a few of my own excerpts from his answers (emphasis added):

“If Carrefour had some difficulties in the last 10 years or so, it is because they lost focus on the consumer.”

“Carrefour wasn’t consistent in the execution of its strategy.”

“There has been this ambiguity between going for the bottom line or for the top line, and that means the whole organization hasn’t been aligned in one clear direction.”

Three-for-four in less than a thousand words is pretty amazing, and I suspect if they would have published the full interview evidence of a loss of nerve would have also been apparent. After all, Carrefour brought Olofsson into the stumbling company in January, presenting him with (as the Journal put it) “one of the most difficult assignments in the industry.”

Carrefour has some 15,000 stores around the world and a leadership team that is second to none. But no company is exempt from the forces that plague management when growth stalls–not Olofsson’s, not mine, and not yours. The key is to stare them down and fight them off. As you do, you can get back to business.

Toys ‘R’ Us has faced its share of difficulties over the past several years. The company has had to contend with the likes not only of traditional competitors including Sears, KB Toys and FAO Schwarz, but bricks-and-mortar bruisers like Target and Walmart and Web behemoth Amazon. Not so long ago the company faced what appeared to be an existential threat from a very-well funded (and heavily advertised) “new economy” competitor, an online startup called eToys. There was a period when I thought Toys ‘R’ Us not only had seen its better days, but would have very few days left.

My how times have changed. Toys ‘R’ Us now owns–that’s right, owns–the FAO Schwarz, eToys and KB Toys brands. And in a gutsy move that runs counter to the loss of nerve by which most retailers are still being tripped up, the company, which has fewer than 850 stores, will launch an additional 350 temporary locations during the upcoming holiday season. That means more rent, more people, more inventory, and more risk. It also means significant potential to gain market share.

In a Wall Street Journal interview, Toys ‘R’ Us CEO Gerald Storch said about the decision, “The current economic disruption provides an opportunity. The people who made their fortunes during the Great Depression where those that moved when everyone else was pulling back.”

He’s right, of course. The same Wall Street Journal article cites a CIT Group study which suggests that two thirds of retailers plan on hunkering down during the upcoming holiday season. While they make their toys easier to buy (with bigger discounts) but harder to find ( by stocking less inventory), Toys ‘R’ Us is positioning itself to be in the right place at the right time as harried shoppers look to cross items off their list (given the category, often impulsively). That will help the company not only pick up share, but protect its margins.

Rather than sitting around, wringing its hands about another potentially difficult holiday season, the Toys ‘R’ Us team has decided that disruptive times often call for disruptive measures. I predict their stockings will be full this year.

Neiman Marcus is a powerful case study of how consistency pays off over time. The brand is among the most famous names in luxury retailing and has survived more than one recession with its focus intact. The company is dealing with perhaps its biggest challenge to date in this economy, but is rising to the occasion again.

Neiman’s longtime CEO, Burt Tansky, demonstrated his resolve last week by telling shareholders, “Full-price selling is what we are concerning ourselves with.” Does Tansky have his head in the sand? Not at all. Neiman Marcus has felt the full effects of significant and sustained consumer belt-tightening, which has hit the luxury sector particularly hard—sales at the famous retailer are down more than 20%. But instead of resorting to lazy, equity-burning discounting, Neiman Marcus is working hard with its designers and suppliers around the world to offer more for less.

Tansky and his team have maintained their commitment to bring fashion-forward, high-end merchandise to their loyal clientele, while taking some of the edge off of the more ostentatious prices. “We have to get the customer to buy [at] full-price,” says Vice President Rachel Golberger. “If you offer the value up front, you won’t get this discounting nonsense.”

Neiman Marcus is standing strong behind its belief that taking the long view is what counts. Here’s hoping—and believing—they will succeed.