We keep hearing the R Word!
Yep, in this Sesame Street alphabet, R stands, of course, for Recession.
Is there a better way to deal with the R word?
I think so.
I’ve been in the professional workforce for 39 years (yes Virginia — I’m that old) and I’ve been through several of these. I’ve noticed two things that create problems for us.
ONE: It seems that every where I turn, I get pummeled with messages about the R word. Just turn on the TV, grab a newspaper, read a bill board, crank up the radio, and we keep seeing and hearing about the R word. That EXCESSIVE focus I believe creates a self-fulfilling prophecy. People keep hearing about the R word and so they think “Gee! It must be really bad! I better cut back!” Gee what happens when people cut back. I don’t think the economy speeds up: do you?
TWO: Corporations (especially) and people ask the wrong question. During the last humongous R word time I went through, I noticed that the first message that came down from management was “What can we cut?” I think that’s the wrong question. Why? Because many of the cuts provide short term gains at the cost of long term pain.
For example, I saw really talented people fired (“down sized”, “right sized”). Sure the company saved some money in salary. But they lost talent that they could never, ever replace. Some of the people I saw fired had generated countless patents for the company. Just think how many future ideas and POSSIBLE REVENUE the company lost by firing those people
So, what can you do instead?
ONE: Ignore 90% of what you see and hear in the media. Stop focusing on the R word and instead …
TWO: Ask yourself a better question. Ask not what can I cut instead ask “What can I do differently?” or better yet, “What can I do more effectively?” Your answers to those questions may cause you to invest more, do more, not less.
Yes, we need to be aware of the need to adjust to economic down shifts but don’t over do it. And, particularly don’t cut mindlessly.
