None of us can control the economy nor can we control our competitors. But we can control and manage our reaction to the state of the nation as it is at any moment in the cycle of business. On my desk is a plaque which says: “Attitude is everything”. On my favourite sweatshirt it has the same words. Henry Ford, the car man, has been credited with the following quote (although I’ve heard it attributed to others, it doesn’t matter): “If you think you can or you think you can’t…you are right”.
As we all know there are good times and not so good times. There have always been these two sides of the business cycle and my economics-studying son tells me it’s just a fact of life. So when things got tough, did you sit back and wait for the cycle to move? Moan and groan? Complain? Starve? Or get out and do something about it?
Even now as things begin to get better do you surround yourselves with positive people and talk up the moment. When people complain to you, you show empathy but how much do you really care? Occasionally you may be secretly pleased, realising you are probably not as badly off as the complainer. Don’t be like these people. Take action and make it happen. If things are slow, you have more time so use it wisely. If you are any good there’s always business about, all it means is you have to work that much harder to find it. When you start actively networking, do remember there are people in the business community who want your knowledge and skills as much as you want their business. You just have to find them.
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