My parents are children of the Great Depression. Life was about sacrifice and living within your means. A washing machine? Well, okay. A clothes dryer? That’s what the sun is for. A dishwasher? That’s what my son is for….
We have all heard the cynical joke about the Golden Rule. “Right, he who has the gold makes the rules”. Turns out that this was a fairly accurate description of what was going on in the financial marketplace. Unfortunately, those who made the rules no longer have the gold. Even more unfortunate is the fact that it was mainly other people’s gold – yours and mine – that they lost!
As I went through the ritual of opening my ever-shrinking quarterly 401k statements, my parents’ words from my childhood (the clichés that I so distained) kept swirling around in my brain. “A man’s word is his bond”. “If something seems too good to be true, it probably is”. “Neither a borrower nor a lender be”. “Treat others as you would like to be treated”. It was now painfully obvious why old sayings and axioms have been so often repeated down through the years. They contain sage advice.
It may be hard to believe, given the dire financial data with which we are continuously pummeled, but many businesses are weathering this greatest of recessions in good shape. This is certainly true for the majority of my customers. Some are even thriving. Those whose SOPs mirrored my parents’ approach to life seem to have been better prepared for our unpleasant financial surprise. Before spending a nickel they validated that the expenditure was in line with their mission. They stayed away from exotic financial investments, didn’t promise more than they could deliver and they relied upon proven (boring?) methods to reinvest in their companies. They also seem to have had a knack for partnering with suppliers and customers with similar values.
On the human side of things they kept their associates informed as to how the company was faring. After all, business owners and executives are not the only ones who are inundated with negative economic news each day. It seems logical that any worker would feel more secure and be more productive knowing that their company was holding its own. Wouldn’t we all want to be treated that way?
As we dig ourselves out of this recession we would all be well-served to follow the advice so common to the so-called “Greatest Generation” in both our business and personal lives. “Anything worth doing is worth doing well”. “We’ll have to wait until payday”. “Waste not, want not”.
Oh, and the next time you crack open an egg for breakfast, scoop out what otherwise would remain inside the shell. It will make my mom smile.
We have all heard the cynical joke about the Golden Rule. “Right, he who has the gold makes the rules”. Turns out that this was a fairly accurate description of what was going on in the financial marketplace. Unfortunately, those who made the rules no longer have the gold. Even more unfortunate is the fact that it was mainly other people’s gold – yours and mine – that they lost!
As I went through the ritual of opening my ever-shrinking quarterly 401k statements, my parents’ words from my childhood (the clichés that I so distained) kept swirling around in my brain. “A man’s word is his bond”. “If something seems too good to be true, it probably is”. “Neither a borrower nor a lender be”. “Treat others as you would like to be treated”. It was now painfully obvious why old sayings and axioms have been so often repeated down through the years. They contain sage advice.
It may be hard to believe, given the dire financial data with which we are continuously pummeled, but many businesses are weathering this greatest of recessions in good shape. This is certainly true for the majority of my customers. Some are even thriving. Those whose SOPs mirrored my parents’ approach to life seem to have been better prepared for our unpleasant financial surprise. Before spending a nickel they validated that the expenditure was in line with their mission. They stayed away from exotic financial investments, didn’t promise more than they could deliver and they relied upon proven (boring?) methods to reinvest in their companies. They also seem to have had a knack for partnering with suppliers and customers with similar values.
On the human side of things they kept their associates informed as to how the company was faring. After all, business owners and executives are not the only ones who are inundated with negative economic news each day. It seems logical that any worker would feel more secure and be more productive knowing that their company was holding its own. Wouldn’t we all want to be treated that way?
As we dig ourselves out of this recession we would all be well-served to follow the advice so common to the so-called “Greatest Generation” in both our business and personal lives. “Anything worth doing is worth doing well”. “We’ll have to wait until payday”. “Waste not, want not”.
Oh, and the next time you crack open an egg for breakfast, scoop out what otherwise would remain inside the shell. It will make my mom smile.
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