Want to Help the Economy? Stop Whining
When everything's going well, people manage to find things to whine about. And when there really is something to whine about - like record unemployment, national debt, deficit spending, bonus pools for bank executives - look out below.
Not that there's anything wrong with that. Complaining does give us all something to do instead of worrying, something to feel in control of even if we're not. Which I guess is why we do it.
And while it does afford us some amount of temporary relief, it doesn't really change a thing except annoy everyone around us. Instead, you might consider actually doing something to help fix the economy and accelerate its return to normal, whatever that means.
No, I'm not talking about spending money or creating jobs. Anybody who tells you to do that is an idiot. You're going to do that when you feel it's in the best interest of your company, shareholders, family, whatever.
That said, there are three things each of us - as business leaders and managers - should be doing, actually need to do. Sure, they're not easy, but none of the most important things in life are. Besides, we didn't get to this point overnight, and we won't recover overnight either. Just put one foot in front of the other, starting here:
- Have confidence in our nation, its economic system, and its resilience. Ignore the naysayers; they probably belong to one of three categories: 1) those who feel entitled to wealth without working for it, 2) those who became wealthy by herding the first category, and 3) our enemies (that's right, it may not be politically correct to say it, but America and capitalism have enemies, lots of them).
- Don't be afraid to take risks because you think the sky might fall. The sky isn't going to fall, and if by some chance it does, you're going to have way bigger problems on your hands. Look, you can't grow or gain market share without taking risks, and a down market can be the best time to retool, retrench, invest in a new opportunity, or become an entrepreneur. Whatever you do, don't be a deer in the headlights just sitting around waiting for something to happen. Something will happen all right, but instead of you making it happen, it'll happen to you. And it won't be a good thing.
- Be politically active or at least a well-informed voter, whichever side of the aisle you're on. The only reason our system of government has worked for so long is because it's self-correcting, more or less. When the pendulum swings too far in one direction, we can make it swing back the other way - usually too far, but we occasionally get it right. I know, it's a painfully iterative process, but it works. That is unless smart business people like you sit on the sidelines complaining.
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