My World, The World

“Many newspaper readers, recalling what they read at the beginning of this year, must be rubbing their eyes. How can the economy still be functioning despite the perfect storm of recession and housing collapse that was supposed to engulf it?

“Although markets are volatile and segments of the country are having a hard time, the national output is up, not down, this year. How has the economy pulled this off? Is there something the pessimists were missing?

“The answer is yes, and here's why. People tend to anthropomorphize the world around them, and not just in economics. We look at the outside world and assume that it is governed in the same way as our own lives…

“The same parochial streak in human nature is rife in economic commentary. In the context of a household or a business, debt is a burden and can become a threat. But for society as a whole, debt finance is a prime means of capitalizing production and growth.

“It's extraordinary, then, that in national debate the narrow view drowns out the broad…

“What's excessive now is fear, not debt: Fears of insolvency and private-sector indebtedness are misplaced and harmful. They place obstacles in the way of ill-used capital that seeks to move toward safer and more profitable employment. They plunge the stock market into turbulence. They push government into hasty actions that intrude more aggressively into private choices and decisions. They undercut the market-price system, without which the economy cannot allocate resources productively. Last but not least, these fears trigger the proverbial false alarm in a crowded theater, sending everyone stampeding for the exits…

“We shouldn't expect forecasters to shrug off the depressing effects of what's happening in their own back yards. This is human nature. We just need to keep things in perspective when we listen to them. A more objective diagnosis is especially needed during an election year, in which many unfounded fears are broadcast and amplified by the media…

“Failure to recognize this endangers the mental health of our society. We create a far bigger tragedy when we lose heart, change the rules of the game, or act recklessly with quick fixes.”

(“Economics as Metaphor.” David Ranson. Wall Street Journal: July 25, 2008. pg. A.15)

EYES, MIND, HEART, actions. That is the universal pattern of managing strategically.

Objective business and social realities are constructed out of millions of perceptions, interpretations and feelings weaving together through time. So, the way things are may not match the way things ought to be; but still, that is indeed the way things are.

Our real challenge then is to remain clear-eyed, open-minded, and true-hearted through the bobbing and weaving of our times.