Back in flight school, my instructor told me “Your body will lie to you…don’t trust it!” When you think you’re flying straight and level…you could actually be in a slow spiraling downward dive…or even upside down…and never know it by looking outside the plane or by how you feel internally. This can kill you very quickly and you need to learn to trust your instruments.
I want to believe we are in a recovery. My emotional equilibrium is telling me that we are at historic buying levels and I should be bullish. I want to tell you that I see the end of the nightmare and your business is on its way back. But every time I look at the instruments they are saying the storm is not over for our economy nor for our industry.
In every meeting I do, I ask my audience the same question, “How many of you can’t wait to leverage yourselves up and start spending more money?” CRICKETS! “Now, how many of you are looking for ways to cut back, reduce spending, do more with less, stretch your car for another year, save more, reduce your debt and your consumption?” EVERYONE! I realize this is an unscientific poll, but any economic scenario that is based on the cheerful return of the consumer is, in my opinion, a non-starter and a dead-wrong strategy.
There are many speakers out there on the circuit singing “Happy Days are Here Again” and I think they’re letting their body lie to them. They are allowing an all-too-recent memory of past market declines tell them that when it goes down it must come back up. If they have any experience at all…they may remember the Crash of 1987 which ranks up there with Y2K as the great non-event. This is a different world. What I’m seeing is a continued downward slide and a depressing market environment for some time. I think smart professionals must build this scenario into their business model. Even if I’m 180 degrees off…it’s still a smarter way to help people.
You Don’t Need to Be a Bull to Grow! The days of the cheerleader advisor are over. Clients today are not looking for a Pollyanna happy face and a perpetually rosy outlook. They want realism, honesty and a savvy leader who can get them to their goals no matter what the market environment. That can be you, but you have to stop cowering in the corner, praying for the end of the storm. Learn to love the storm!
This means new investment strategies, new marketing approaches that brand you as a realist and a serious, caring professional, and new ways to talk with clients honestly about their future and the changes required to get them home safely. It means action and hard work…not sitting around thinking about what to do. Get moving again…and watch what happens to your attitude and your business.
The image that pops into my mind when I think of the ideal advisor in today’s world is Gene Hackman’s character Reverend Scott in the Poseidon Adventure.
He quickly accepted the reality of the upturned world and he recognized the tremendous change of thinking that was necessary to survive. The “experts” said he was wrong but he stuck to his guns with passion, logic and determination. He tried to convince people to join him but he didn’t waste too much time arguing with the un-savable. He knew that quick action was essential and that apathy would end in death. He used all his resources (like Ernest Borgnine and Shelly Winters) and improvised when necessary. Ultimately he led his small flock to safety. And if you forgo the typical Hollywood ending…he did a damn good job for his people.
Folks…this ship is under water and likely to stay there for a while longer yet. The consumer is down for the count. The government has shocked the economy with about 3 trillion volts and it ain’t moving off the table. When the false glow from an overly optimistic “stress test” wears off (bend down, touch your toes) we might find that we’re in deeper trouble than we think. Get your people up to the engine room and out to fresh air. Be as bold and creative as you can be. This is a time when leaders are made!
0 comments:
Post a Comment