We all create scenarios in our minds about what’s going to happen tomorrow. For better or for worse, we spin stories about the future that are either encouraging or paralyzing. 

Right now, some people are deeply pessimistic about the future of the economy. They envision a coming depression similar to the one we had in 1929, when people were standing in soup-kitchen lines to get a little food. These people foresee a future where things will only get worst; where it will be years before the economy grows again; where the current financial system will be proven broken beyond repair and nothing that the government can do to help will make a difference. Continue reading →

As kids, we learned that our temperature was supposed to be around 98.6 degrees. If that number was off, we knew we were sick. In school, our test scores were important. If they fell off, we knew we were in trouble. And as we grew older, the important numbers have varied: some days it’s our salary, some days it’s our blood pressure that matter. But there are always numbers that we’re keeping an eye on. Continue reading →

In the last few weeks we have witnessed the biggest global economic downturn in history.  The basic underpinnings of our economy are coming apart faster than anyone ever thought possible. Every day we wake up to more bad news, with predictions for worse to come. Little wonder, then, that anxiety is rampant. Continue reading →

One of the lessons to learn from our present economic woes is the value of that old-fashioned virtue, self-discipline. Looking back to understand how we arrived at our current situation, it is very clear that many in the banking system and regulatory agencies overlooked commonsense principles that could have helped us all to avoid this crisis. Why did so many ignore these principles? Well, following the basics would have meant hewing to the hard rule of self-discipline. Continue reading →

We all are selective procrastinators. We all have that list of things that we know we should do. These are important tasks and were we to act on them, our lives would be improved in some way. But we push them off for one big reason: these are the things we don’t enjoy doing. So instead we busy ourselves with tasks that are less important but more enjoyable. On some level, we hope that the jobs we dislike will magically disappear if we ignore them long enough. Continue reading →

When the economy is in a downswing, as it is now, we all try to peer into the future. When will things change? What will be the next developments? How will those developments affect us? Of course there’s no way to actually predict the future. The only thing that we can know for sure is that the world will be a different place tomorrow than it is today. While this has always been true, it is especially true now, when change occurs at lightning speed. One of the secrets of success, however, is to prepare for the future. Even though you can’t see its actual shape, you can still try to be ready for whatever the future might bring. Continue reading →

Most of us work as part of a team, even if we wouldn’t necessarily use that label.  Breaking a large group of people into smaller, focused units is a powerful and productive way to build any organization or company. But most teams never achieve all the benefits that are open to them. Continue reading →

A famous rabbinical scholar once said that we should never worry because all of our fears fall into one of two groups: those that we can do something about and those that we can’t. With regard to those worries that we can do something about, we should just do what needs to be done and then be done with worrying. With regard to those worries that we can do nothing about — well, there’s no point in worrying about them. Continue reading →

How do you look at your competitors? Do you feel that they’re putting you out of business or even that they’re stealing customers from you? Or do you feel that they are actually helping you to grow?

In a capitalist economy, competition is part of the game. If you don’t have competition, you are not in business. The more competition you have, the greater the demand is for your services and the more potential you have to grow. Competition builds awareness: it creates public need for a product or service. And you can benefit from competition if you give people reasons to satisfy their need with your company. Continue reading →

One of the habits of successful people is that they are always interested in what they can learn from those who have already succeeded. An example of this quality comes from Debbi Fields, the founder of Mrs. Fields Cookies Inc. At the age of 20, Fields decided to look for a business she could control and grow. She believed she could bake cookies that people would want to buy, so she convinced her bank in 1977 to finance her first cookie store in Palo Alto, California. The people around her kept telling her (with her best interests in mind, of course), “A cookie store is such a bad idea, and anyway, market research shows that people want crispy cookies, not the soft and chewy cookies you make.” Continue reading →