Nobel Prize winner and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman worries about the insularity of America’s economic leaders.
He’s right to worry. The economic downturn is going to be longer and deeper than it otherwise would have been because our business, political and economic leaders steadfastly refused to acknowledge the levels of debt our societies were being burdened with and now they refuse to deal with the fact that debt is being unwound.
The challenge for business owners now is not to fall for the orthodoxies and slogans but to take a realistic view of what’s happening in the world and the effects on customers, staff and suppliers.
Just listening to your mates repeating your own beliefs is not good enough. The politicians have their pensions, the executives their golden parachutes and the economists tenured positions. You probably don’t.
Read widely, listen and be sceptical of those with special interests to protect. Most of all don’t act on the advice of those who think it will be business as usual next year.
Business as usual is going to be very different from today onwards to what it was two, ten or twenty years ago. It’s time to reinvent and look for the opportunities those too deep in the echo chamber are unable to see.
I attended a meeting last night where half the people didn’t have business cards, including one of the organisers and two of the sponsor’s representatives.