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Optimism is the cure for the downturn

  • Thread starter Power Lunch Club
  • Start date
Power Lunch Club

Power Lunch Club

New Member
I read this today on the BBC's website, written by Sir David Tang. It was so profound I felt I had to put it on the forum. Since some people don't click links, I decided to copy and paste it.

Sir David Tang is the Hong Kong-born, English-educated entrepreneur who founded the clothing chain Shanghai Tang

Primarily is summarises what is really going to get us out the mud,....sheer optimism.

_______________________________________________________________


Viewpoint
By Sir David Tang
Entrepreneur


Pessimism is the most serious cause for the global economic tsunami.

It is only with a sense of optimism, preferably accompanied by a sense of energy and laughter, that we will be able to pick ourselves up from a broken Humpty Dumpty

Sir David Tang​

There is an ocean of people who are now feeling so depressed that not only have they become resigned to the fact that they are in deep trouble, but they have told everybody else that they are also in deep trouble.

Pessimism has an uncanny knack of being self-fulfilling.

No wonder almost every single quoted share in the world has gone down significantly, mostly by half, if not much more.

Even the most solid companies, such as HSBC, which has no real exposure; or BP, which has significant oil reserves; or a company like Dell, which has an enormous amount of cash - the shares of these companies have traded down considerably.

That is the barometer of our general pessimism.

Big collapses

The present condition has also been a wake-up call for those who have lost sight of understanding the businesses in which they invest.

Before now, there were far too many people out there trying to profit from the shuffling of papers and commodities and derivatives and options and hedging: really sophisticated instruments - but all too clever by half.

What we all need to do is to sit down and calm down and go back to basics

It just goes to show that having all these smart theories and ingenious ideas is no substitute for a solid business sense based on the fundamentals of supply and demand, with particular reference to the efficiency of the workforce; all those basic components that people such as Warren Buffett emphasise and are often ridiculed for.

Let this depressing climate also be a reminder that if you grow big, you can collapse big. The higher you climb the harder you fall.

Think small

In this mania for globalisation, it might not necessarily be good to be absolutely massive.

Just look at some of the banks and car manufacturers - they are huge, and they are in huge trouble.

What we all need to do is to sit down and calm down and go back to basics.

And most important of all, shed our sense of pessimism.

It is only with a sense of optimism, preferably accompanied by a sense of energy and laughter, that we will be able to pick ourselves up from a broken Humpty Dumpty.

In particular, governments must immediately instigate infrastructure projects to increase employment, and they must force banks, particularly those that they have rescued, to lend to small businesses.

Without a general sense of gainful employment, from which the ordinary people at large can grow optimistic, we run a huge danger of increasing unemployment.

But we cannot be complacent.

We must stem growing unemployment and promote maximum employment.

Jobs measure feelings more accurately than the Richter scale measures earthquakes.
 
johnthesearcher

johnthesearcher

New Member
Hi Gordon

I think the above post covers a lot of the points we have all been thinking about over the past few weeks.

I don't neccessarily always agree with EF Schumacher who states the 'Small is beautiful' but I think that lately - speaking in economic terms - that large (organisations) can be ugly......as the damage that is caused to the business environment i.e suppliers, staff and other service providers, when they go to the wall has far reaching effects within local communities.

Quote from above....Think small

In this mania for globalisation, it might not necessarily be good to be absolutely massive.


As SME's I think we are a lot better placed to survive the economic downturn as small businesses have a greater capability to 'change direction' or diversify........FAST.

The SBF, PLC and other networking opportunities (both online and offline) will become more important to the SME and small business owner as we go forward into 2009 and beyond.

John
 
M

MarkTaylor1968

New Member
Hi Gordon,

You've certainly been the most optimistic person I've met in the face of the 'CC' and the economic downturn - your mailings have been fantastic.

When is the PLC coming back to Glasgow???

M.
 
Power Lunch Club

Power Lunch Club

New Member
Hi Gordon,

You've certainly been the most optimistic person I've met in the face of the 'CC' and the economic downturn - your mailings have been fantastic.

When is the PLC coming back to Glasgow???

M.

Very soon Mark...thanks for your comments....I have been concentrating on Edinburgh and that is now 95% settled. I am in the process of finding the right venue(s) for Glasgow....and then we rock and roll through there again.
 
M

Mark Lister

New Member
Mmmm, Power Weekend! What would that look like?

Sounds like the perfect place to go for a injection of optimism.
 
Scottish Business Owner

Scottish Business Owner

New Member
Anyone in the Inverness area can warm my house any time they like (just take a paintbrush!!)

LOL @ Brian :thumbup1:

I'm gonna stick my neck on the line and suggest we do an Inverness area meetup in say May/June time. I would even look to stay overnight so I could get a drink :w00t:

So get in the diary and i'll be looking to Brian and Gordon for suggestions on location etc. :)
 
Gutsy

Gutsy

New Member
Gordon, this definitely ties in with my way of thinking. I believe the economic downturn will mean an upturn for entrepreneurship as large companies downsize and individuals are forced to look for alternative income streams. We have to keep thinking creatively. Our minds will have to be one of our most effective tools, I believe.
 
Gordon N

Gordon N

New Member
So get in the diary and i'll be looking to Brian and Gordon for suggestions on location etc. :)

I am already looking at a lunch for us northern folk if there are any interested parties (will post a new thread for it in members) but if the fun bus is coming north that would be great!
 
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Gutsy

Gutsy

New Member
I've been thinking about this a lot. I think one of the key things we as business owners have to do is listen very carefully, extra carefully to what our customers are saying to us, we need to keep our finger on the pulse of what they want and comply. For example in the transcription / virtual assistant field I've noticed my queries have gone from queries on big jobs to queries on smaller jobs - I believe this is because people who do not have full time secretaries still need the jobs done, so the virtual industry is actually one of the better ones to be in at the moment.
 
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