Leif@Biznik › Comments

"How to Survive & Thrive Amidst Economic Uncertainty" series , first live call-in show starting at 10am PST more here: http://biznik.com/about/live or direct show link here:http://tinyurl.com/4pwdzt - Leif@Biznik

without emotion, fear can only distract you - Sheraz Mahmood from twhirl

agree on the fear part. But no emotion is near impossible -how about a state of trust, compassion and action-taking hope? - Leif@Biznik

Afraid of what? It's only the failure of paper assets. (and all related vanities) Everything that is real is still out there. - Morton Fox

"I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain." - Mark Trapp

I think a lot of it comes down to focus. Focus on the mission at hand, be confident in what it will take to accomplish that, and recognize your strengths and weaknesses getting there. I think it's time for more realistic and reduced goals though. And above all, no panic. I also like the USMC leadership list in troubled times: http://leadership.au.af.mil/sls-ski... - Andrew Leyden

Although I think the economic problems will get worse, many people are acting irrationally. This is not the end of the world, sure some businesses will go under and people will be laid off but in many cases they shouldn't have been there in the first place. If you have a good idea, it's still a good idea and if you work hard at it, you'll see results :) - Steven Cains

Lindsay - If my wife had your attitude, I wouldn't have any problems. Unfortunately (in this case), she's got Robert's. That makes things difficult and is that it's a trait that really can't be changed easily (from what I've read). While I agreed with Morton a week ago, there's no doubt a lot of 'regular people' are going to be hit here. They're not all 'strong'. - Charlie Anzman

i'm not afraid, does that mean i'm sticking my head in the sand and ignoring things? it means that i am doing what people should be doing all along. living on a budget, staying focused with current work, etc. - Jonathan Jesse

And if you want to lead Robert, keep bringing us your interviews with innovative people. I don't need to hear about the economic problems, I don't need to hear Jim Cramer's opinion, I can just look at the data. What I can't (or am too lazy to do) is find all these insightful people developing new technologies, that's your job ;) - Steven Cains

@Charlie - It's a personal epiphany everyone has to go through... and usually it's after you hit rock bottom and realize the only way forward is up. Some people can be reasoned into it, but mostly it's a matter of introspection. You just have to make the decision to not spend the majority of your time being upset about things you can't change and focus on what you can. Much easier said than done, and I'm certainly not the expert, but I try. - Fa La La La Lindsay

Best piece of advice I ever got "fear is not an option." When you think about it - really doesn't need to either. - Brett

Lindsay - Was there myself many years ago and you're 100% right. If it's something I can't directly control, why worry? (Took several YEARS). I've had a similar conversation with others about CEOs that have never 'been down'. It's actually a beneficial experience they should have had at some point. I think Robert does listen and your comments and Cains are positive. - Charlie Anzman

@Mark "Atreides" Trapp ('nuff said) - LogEx

Here's a good article to help you put things in perspective: http://online.wsj.com/article... - Howard Keziah

strength and courage are doing what needs to be done -- not without fear, but in spite of it - William Harryman

I'm a climber; I do a lot of traditional routes on gear, placed on lead. Now and then, it happens that I get myself into a potentially deadly situation, where I haven't been able to place sufficient protection to stop a ground-fall or hitting a ledge. These are scary moments, but educational. I've learned that fear is primarily a subconscious indicator of level of risk; it doesn't at all inform you about how to proceed except that you must do so with greater care and attention to detail. - kris. nuttycombe

And, of course, responding emotionally or precipitously to fear does nothing but make the situation worse. - kris. nuttycombe

I like this 2007 post by VC Brad Feld: Fear Is the Mindkiller http://bit.ly/4Ncna. Money quote: "I have long believed that fear, anxiety, and guilt are useless emotions in an entrepreneurial context." - Hutch Carpenter

Scotch - Ben Jackson from twhirl

liking hutch's comment - brad rocks :) - mike "glemak" dunn

A leader cannot be afraid. Those who would follow will smell it on you, try to replace you. Basic survival. - Rahsheen ™, Coach Rah

Fear is a useful emotion. Like all emotions, it's a leading indicator - fear tells us to worry about things that our rational mind might not be aware of yet. The trick is that it shouldn't control you, and shouldn't replace rational thought processes. - Eric P

+1 Mark. Beat me too it! - Todd Hoff

You have to stop and think: what's the worst that can happen to you. You'll find that there are actually very few things that you can't survive. And the things that you can't survive, you can't do anything about them anyway. Fear ceases to be a useful emotion once it starts paralyzing you. - Victor Ganata

here's my response: http://www.jeremytoeman.com/why-im-... - Jeremy Toeman

Fear is woven into the mentality of every entrepreneur in my opinion. I'm not any more afraid now than I ever was. - Patricia

I tend to agree with Patricia, except I am more worried now about my IRA and health care coverage, and my ability to afford paying for it as a business owner. Otherwise, the issues are not much different than usual regarding business building and continuing to find clients I really want to work with. Leading when you're afraid means you have to work smarter, think more creatively, do more with less, and above all, continue to lead by innovating—or your value prop. will erode. - Cathryn Hrudicka

I will tell myself .. everyone is afraid onat one time ro the other. I have to think of solutions and not of worries .. brave people fight fear ... not hide it .. - Dhawal from twhirl

I'm not afraid. But I'm aware. I remember what the 2001-03 timeframe looked like, and it's not clear yet if this is sharper, deeper or shorter. All I know is I don't necessarily want a replay of the '01-'03 time, and our bank accounts are already a lot tighter. - Louis Gray

I think Twitter is a way to speak with the world. I could never travel to all the meetings, see the people, exchange a few words without tools like Twitter, Jaiku, Friendfeed, and Facebook. Twitter and all the other interactive social media tools makes small personalized knowledge management groups possible http://kknetwork.ning.com/ Twitter helps to globalize the individual. - Helge V. Keitel

Thanks Gregory, it would be difficult for you and me to arrange a meeting within minutes without social media platforms. While work with my daily tasks I've the opportunity to exchange ideas with people around the globe. There's nothing new in this as such, but the change is dramatic compared to 20 years ago. But what did bankers do wrong? Why didn't they see the dangers in the packaging of sub-prime loans? Do we understand the limits and restrictions of global networking? - Helge V. Keitel

1. If I follow you and retweet you you'll have an impact. - Robert Scoble

1, if that person can effect change. - Ben Jackson from twhirl

Amen, brother. Scoble's retweets are the juice. - John McCrea

Scoble - laughing at your comment. @chrisbrogan has had a similar effect w/ me in the past. One mention and voila, many new followers. @Louis, I'd say that you start to hit critical mass at 100 but they obviously have to be the right 100. At 500-1,000, you can start to get some very effective research/survey results from your followers. - Aaron Strout

John, you don't even need one follower, thinking about it. The world is moving to http://search.twitter.com so you can get found with very few followers there. - Robert Scoble

+10 Scoble - imran

Thanks Mr. Scoble. I just found someone to chat with about my executive dashboard project. - Mattb4rd

Robert: so true. I am addicted to Twitter search. It is vital to my work (and fun). - John McCrea

@Aaron, this is not a post I wrote, but one from Mukund at BuzzGain. And yes, I agree that Twitter Search is more important than Twitter's Web interface at this point. - Louis Gray

I'll have to agree with Scobleizer - I visit Twitter Search more than Twitter itself these days. I learn way more from that interface. - Chris Luckhardt

Haven't we been here before. 1st we all create content. Then, Search organizes the content. I suppose "Twitter Words" is next? - Alan Edgett

Funny how often I've been asked the EXACT same questions. We've been having a nice discussion about this as well (1.6k views and 70 comments now) around a great article that was written by a member. http://tinyurl.com/3h8mdz - Leif@Biznik

None - they all spend so much time reading twitter (and FF :) ) that nothing gets done! - Chris Rogers

On who? - Warner Crocker

depends on targeted/anticipated impact and target audience. - Hayk H.

@Scoble - technically one, but realistically I have to go with @aaron - Mukund

The real question is, how many twitter followers does it take to change a lightbulb? - Jan Dawson

your message is more important, how to write compelling copy in 140 characters - Dan Rockwell from twhirl

If there's no credit or cash, how can we hoard? - Paul W. Swansen

major overhaul of rules/regulations and FBI must begin financial crimes arrests - imran

Can you amplify on 'hoarding' Robert? - Leif@Biznik

Hoarding is saving your cash for the impending apocalypse and not putting it out into the economy. Particularly bad if people are pulling money out of banks and putting it under the mattress...in other words taking money out of the system. - Alex Scoble

In my case, I'm saving up for a wedding, so there's no choice for me. :) I'll be spending a lot of money come December 2009 though. - Alex Scoble

I think there is a big difference between 'hoarding' (which seems to imply greed) and wisdom, patience, etc. But yes, fear is never helpful in itself. - Leif@Biznik

not have anything in the first place. I just graduated and it kicks ass that I don't have much to fear. Economic crunch means firings for cheaper talent. AKA muah - Greg Bond from twhirl

Paul: I have plenty of cash. I'm hoarding it by not spending it on things that are optional in my life right now. For instance, I have three showers. Two need new tile. So, we're just not using those two showers and am avoiding spending the money on upgrading them. I've now joined the hoarding society. The problem is now the plumber gets laid off because people are cancelling projects. - Robert Scoble

Alex: when you cancel the wedding, or scale it back (Vegas drive through, baby!) due to lack of resources, then I'll know the economy has finally gotten to you. - Robert Scoble

Economic anxiety on rise as black hole getting larger, Managing your money will help you manage your fears - imran

I think 'slowing spending' is more apt than 'hoarding' (people are hoarding gas in Georgia -- I'm not hoarding by not eating at pf changs) - Christopher Galtenberg

I prefer the term 'saving'. I know it is old-fashioned. - Brian Newman

Brian: sorry, hoarding is not saving. Saving is budgeting out, say, 5% of your income for savings or a 401k. Hoarding is stopping of all non-optional economic activity. Everyone I've talked to in past few days is moving into a hoarding phase to protect their families. - Robert Scoble

@Robert - Are you kidding? Mark-to-market reform. Cut corporate and capital gains taxes. End H-1B visa limitations. Roll back Sarbanes-Oxley so the IPO market opens up. This is simple stuff! Why are you pretending there is another way out? As a tech blogger, I'm amazed you are not screaming for this stuff. - Morgan Warstler

People are reigning in discretionary spending. If you've decided not to buy big ticket items on credit you're not hoarding, you're being prudent. If you're evaluating the difference between "need" and "want" that's a good thing. "Hoarding is stopping all non-optional economic activity". Agreed. But that's not happening IMO. Line at Peet's this AM was long as it always is. People going out less, but not never. Movies still being paid for etc. - AJ Kohn

Non-optional economic activity = discretionary spending = luxuries. I don't consider cutting back on luxuries hoarding. Maybe I am missing your point. But the example you gave, re-tiling your bathroom, is a luxury. - Brian Newman

which one has bigger impact: banks hoarding vs consumer hoarding = perfect storm? - imran

@AJ Kohn totally agree, a person isn't hoarding if they are being responsible with their income. in fact the problem with this whole bailout is those that were responsible with their money will get nothing. my wife and i pay our bills, pay our mortgage and don't have any debt other then college loans. does this mean we are hoarding? - Jonathan Jesse

@Jon - I call that being prudent. And you are getting screwed by this bailout. - Brian Newman

@J Jesse: Yeah, I get a bit irate when folks talk about adjusting the loan balances for some of these people. I didn't buy because I knew it wasn't a smart fiscal move. I keep saving so I can buy responsibly. I drive a '93 Tercel. I don't have any debt. I don't have a big flat screen TV. I do save. I do contribute to a 529 for my daughter's education. So I get nothing for doing the right thing, but others get money for being fiscally irresponsible? Doesn't compute. - AJ Kohn

If you don't have a big screen TV you aren't helping the economy. Stop being part of the problem AJ and buy an HDTV today! (just as long as it's not Sharp) - Alex Scoble

I don't know. The weather does change sometimes. I think sometimes it's prudent to save for a rainy day. The way we run our economy necessitates that the growth indicators run negative from time to time. There's no way to stop this unless the American mindset changes, and we start being OK with developing a planned economy. Boom and bust is the price you pay for pseudo-laissez faire. - Victor Ganata

Consumers will still spend, it'll just be more cautious. Quality over quantity will be the name of the game for now. I just bought a pair of pants, I'll get my nails done. Will I drop $$$ on a plane ticket so i can be at a party? No. Not unless I have other meetings to make it all worth the money. - Patricia

The bigger issue becomes what happens if we all wake up and suddenly our money isn't worth anything anymore, or we can't pull it out of the bank when we need it. Thankfully, that isn't happening yet, but if it does, even the hoarders are screwed. - Alex Scoble

I don't think many Americans will hoard, especially the working class. Those who hoard are generally the rich. Don't worry too much about the economy; it'll eventually level out itself. Remember, when there's a recession, foreigners will come to the US to shop for bargains. - imabonehead

We have to act on what DOES happen and not on what MIGHT happen. That is where fear drives us to do stupid things - Douglas E. Welch from twhirl

The only this we have to fear is... halitosis. Stop spreading the FUD guys. You wouldn't accept it from vendors, yet you push it here. - Ernie Oporto