By Joseph Paris, President - XONITEK Corporation
I
am going to call 2008 “The Year of
Quicksand”. 2008 started-out
relatively strong and at-ease – but this proved deceptive as the observable
global heath was hiding the real rot underneath. All it took was one miss-step, and the
struggle began. And it seemed that
the more we struggled, the deeper we sank – just like quicksand.
By
any stretch of the imagination, it has been a very tumultuous year. Every day, we are endlessly bombarded
with tales of conflict and crisis from every source of media and gossip. It gets to the point where, to some, the
news turns to static or “white noise”, ignored for it’s ubiquitous – whilst for
others it feels as a boxer would feel an endless series of body-blows, each
report resulting in a struggle to keep the strength in one’s arms to maintain
protection.
For
your consideration, just a very few of the events that hit the news in
2008…
-
The price of oil skyrockets.
-
The price of oil collapses.
-
House prices continue to tumble and foreclosures
are up.
-
The Unemployment Rate has increased to 6.7%
-
AIG almost evaporates without help from the Federal
Government.
-
Credit-markets have dried-up.
-
Banks get Federal monies to
survive.
-
Fannie-Mae and Freddy-Mac taken-over by government.
-
Stock-market sell-off. DJIA down
almost 50% from its high to its low.
-
Private Equity and Hedge-Funds scramble to unwind investments.
-
With tons of cash looking for an investment, Private Equity and Hedge-Funds scramble to find partners for
acquisitions.
-
State and local governments struggle to balance their budgets as tax revenue
decreases.
-
- Lehman Brothers collapses.
-
In the twenty-first century, there are pirates on the high-seas again.
-
The Big-3 are on the brink of bankruptcy.
-
Madoff runs a Ponzi-scheme which results in investors losing
$50-Billion.
-
Barack
Obama elected President of the
-
Congress is dominated by the Democrats as Republicans
are “turfed-out”.
- Tim Russert and Paul Newman pass.
…
and there were countless other challenges, both domestically and abroad, that
were faced by all of the world this year.
But
2009 should bring a renewed spirit to all…
There
will be a new President in the White House which will instill a certainty that
was unattainable during the elections and the period between the election and
inauguration – and this will beget stability. Stability will beget confidence – a
confidence that is sorely necessary and which will mark the beginning of the
long march back to prosperity.
It
does not matter as much the minutia of the policies and programs. What matters is that there is a credible
and transparent leadership which will serve as the rally-point for everyone
around the world to follow. Always
remember, a leader is not a titled position, or one of rank, or even one who is
elected. A leader is a leader
because people are willing to follow.
And if a leader looks over his shoulder and sees nobody following, he is
no longer a leader – he’s a nobody who is merely out for a
walk.
Most
importantly, we must look to ourselves and our own actions – and be held
accountable. Is not each of us,
individually, culpable to a certain extent for the situation in which we find
ourselves presently? Do we look to
the greater good or solely to our own interests?
Do
we protect the environment where were reside? Did we try “flipping houses” for the
quick buck? Do we drive SUV’s? Were we greedy? Did we look to gain personally at the
knowing expense of others? Do we
live beyond our means? Did we take
care of ourselves physically? Did
we help our neighbors? Did we do
anything to increase our knowledge?
Did we hone our professional skills?
It
serves no useful purpose to place blame.
Learn from the past – and take the necessary, prudent and measured
actions to prevent it from recurring – don’t live in the past. There will be time for prosecution and
retribution later – but we must concentrate our efforts on working the
problem.
We
cannot look to others for the solution – whether in a policy, an action, a pill
to take, or a button to push. We
cannot expect a “Messiah” to come from “on-high” to save us from ourselves. And we cannot sell ourselves short – for
each of us has the power to influence our lot in life, and the lot of those
around us.
“Do what you can, with what you got, from
where you are.”
Each
of us has a finite capacity for influence and effect. But that is no excuse to be paralyzed
and to do nothing. All it takes a
conscious effort and a belief that you can make difference, even if not on the
macro level, but closer to home.
So, my resolution for 2009 is:
-
Do
something each day to help my physical, spiritual, and emotional
self.
-
Do
something each day to help the members of my family.
-
Do
something each day to help a neighbor or a stranger.
-
Do
something each day to help my environment.
-
Do
something each day to improve my company and those who are dependant (employees,
clients, vendors) on its success.
-
Fight
a fight that is worth fighting, and not just the fights I can
win.
-
Forgive
(but not necessarily forget) transgressions.
-
Be
accountable and responsible for my actions – defer no
blame.
-
Try
to leave a positive and indelible impression on all with whom I (or my business)
have contact.
And so as we come to the end of another year, we find
ourselves reflective of the year’s hard fought battles, won and lost, of loves
arrived and departed, and of business successes and
disappointments.
With
rebuilding spirit, we look with great anticipation to what lay before us in the
coming year.
And, most importantly, we look to reconnect over the next few weeks with our families and closest friends.
It has been a great pleasure to know you, or to work with
you, or to write for you this past year. So, as the Irish cheer goes,..
“May the best of your 2008 be the worst of your 2009.”
Joseph
Paris is a champion of Operational Excellence through his twenty plus years as
an entrepreneur, academic and professional instructor, and strategic consultant.
Mr. Paris is the President and CEO of XONITEK Corporation, specializing in the
disciplines of lean, six sigma, finance, turnaround management, operational
due-diligence, reverse operational due-diligence, logistics and manufacturing.
Contact him at parisjf@xonitek.com.
XONITEK
Corporation is a management and technologies consulting firm with a world
wide presence and a reputation for excelling in the optimization of
business synchronization