Patience Not Panic: Survive
and Thrive Through Economic Turbulence
by Eileen McDargh
From 28,000 feet, snow still spots parts of
Michigan, Illinois
and other states further West. The earth looks
brown and barren,
dark and ugly from this vantage point. But I know
that if I could
walk the fields and wait patiently, I'd see signs
of new growth
inching out of hardened earth. I'd eventually find
dead-looking tree
limbs swelling with rising sap, pushing buds into
blossom under the
warming sun.
But what if I opted NOT to be patient? What if I
panicked, burned
the dead-looking trees, cut off limbs, and retreated
in disgust within
my cocoon? Spring might NEVER come because my
shortsighted actions
jeopardized the natural course of events.
That's what has happened with the stock market and
many of our
companies. It concerns me that such actions can
create a rippling
self-fulfilling prophecy. I'm concerned that departed
talent and trust
might not be regained within the workplace. I'm
concerned that
customers will retreat because quality and service
could suffer as
employees attempt to fill the shoes of a thinned out
workforce. Here's
a hard pill to swallow but perhaps all of us—myself
included-have
become greedy for the amazing returns and astounding
growth of the
past eight years. Perhaps we've grown fat and lazy
instead of prudent
and thoughtful.
I think now is the time to focus on what's
important. For our
families and our businesses to thrive, we need to ask
ourselves what
endures for the long haul and not the short gain.
Innovation, engaged
and talent-focused employees, customer-focused
products and services
and a deeply shared commitment to find ways for
meaningful
contribution carry the day.
By historical standards, we've been through far
more dramatic
financial times. Once the U.S. had 20,000 phone
companies and 2000
auto companies. General Motors was once a tech stock.
As we say in the
coaching world, "from breakdown comes build
up."
I fully intend to be the voice of reasonable
optimism. Now-more
than ever-we need to meet, to talk, to vocalize our
concerns and
legitimize our fears so we can figure out a passage
through this blip
in business history. Philosopher Howard Zinn said
that to have hope
one does not need certainty, only possibility.
Let us figure out together how to be the bearers
of hope.
© Eileen McDargh, McDargh Communications. All rights reserved. You may reprint this article so long as it remains intact with the byline and if all links are made live.
Since 1980, Hall of Fame speaker Eileen McDargh has helped Fortune 100 companies as well as individuals create connections that count and conversations that matter. Her latest book is Gifts from the Mountain-Simple Truths for Life's Complexities. Her other books include Talk Ain't
Cheap...It's Priceless and Work for a Living and Still Be Free to Live, one of the first books to address the notion of balance and authentic work. A 59 year-old grandmother, she recently returned from climbing among the highest mountains in the world. Find out more about this compelling
and effective professional speaker and join her free newsletter by visiting http://www.EileenMcDargh.com.
McDargh
Communications
(949) 496-8640
Eileen@EileenMcDargh.com
www.EileenMcDargh.com
© 2008 McDargh Communications, All rights
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