Managing yourself

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When the economy looks like it does below, both consumers and company managers take much more care with their buying decisions. They buy less, they spend less, and they buy less often.

When the economy is strong, companies and consumers spend more easily. We know this. They don't put off buying, they just buy. They finish buying one thing and move on to the next. There is a natural momentum and flow to the marketplace. Not only are people searching more often for what they want - when they find it, they are more likely to buy it.

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Today, there is a sense of things changing so radically that nothing will ever be the same. People believe we are in the midst of a big change, to the point where some are even preparing for an "escape," should one be needed.

I'm not talking about fringe survivalists. I'm talking about the types of people I work with every day: CEOs and entrepreneurs. People who run successful companies, people with employees and families and mortgages.

They are, in a word, decidedly unpeaceful right now. They are concerned, fearful, hesitant. They're still running their businesses, but at the same time, constantly looking over their shoulders or out to the horizon, trying to figure out what is going to happen next.

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I'm in a country at the moment where there is a very large divide between "the rich" and "the poor." The unemployment rate is estimated to be at 40%. Yet, in many areas, the malls are packed, and hotel suites in the city near the water go for $1500 a night. [Note to readers - after getting quite a bit of response on this point - I am NOT talking about the United States. I'm about 8,000 miles from the U.S. at the moment. - kz]

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You've got a business to run. You've got a family to support and customers, employees, and vendors who are depending on you. If you stopped doing what you are doing, your business would die.

As true - and basic - as these statements are, it's important to say them right now.

Because as we all are trying to do our jobs, we are continually being distracted by the latest "crisis."

"Look at me! I'm the banking industry! I loaned money to people who couldn't afford to pay the money back! Now I'm going under! Help! Send me your money - via more taxes - and bail me out!"

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"I know, I know," the child says, grabbing a tool from his father, who is partway through showing how it works and what to do with it. But something goes wrong as the child tries to use the tool. He stops and mumbles, "Must be broken." He is reluctant to admit that he really didn't "know," and that he really hadn't thought it all through, and he shouldn't have been so hasty. He doesn't want to admit that he could have learned something from his dad after all.

Fast forward thirty years. Now the child owns his own business. "I know, I know," he says, interrupting the customer. The customer, an expert in his field, is trying to explain his needs. But the business owner doesn't want to hear it, because he "knows."