Hopes and Alibis

This week, the top 20 world nations, economically-speaking, are meeting in London to sort out the global credit crisis. No doubt they will tell us of some plans that, given the mechanisms and sums involved, will be incomprehensible to most of us.

Last week, we heard about two other responses to the financial crisis at a more mundane level.

The first was the news of an early morning attack on the home of former Royal Bank of Scotland boss, Sir Fred Goodwin, in which missiles were thrown at his house and Mercedes car.

The other piece of news was the result of a survey into the business crisis by the UK Chartered Management Institute.

1118 senior managers were asked how they were responding to the downturn. To the surprise of many, a majority of respondents said they were refusing to let the gloomy news dampen their enthusiasm. Unlike the recession of the 1990's, in which most businesses reacted by cutting costs, today's business leaders said they remained positive.

And they are doing this by concentrating on two particular areas.

The first is an increase in training for their core staff. The second is a focus on the twin skills of management and leadership to see them through.

In a choice of attacking bankers or investing in the people in your business, it's not hard to see which route makes most sense.

For just as uncertainty, fear and a lack of self-belief led us into this situation, so positivity, confidence, and self-belief will lead us out.

I hope at the coming summit, the world leaders will follow the lead of those UK managers who are enthusiastically investing in their people.

I hope too that they will pause to remember the words of the greatest business enthusiast the world has ever seen, car maker Henry Ford, who said: "You can do anything if you have enthusiasm. It is the yeast that makes our hopes rise to the stars. With it, there is accomplishment. Without it, there are only alibis."

PS If you want to follow the lead of those business leaders who are investing in their staff, and you don't know where to start, then ask us. ManageTrainLearn has a wealth of experience and skills across the whole spectrum of management and personal development. Just drop us a line now and let us know how we can help you.