Editor’s Viewpoint: Tips for a personal economic recovery

If you’ve seen bad economic times before (and I’ll bet you have) then you know the drill. First, waves of your colleagues get laid off, then your budgets get cut. And, those of us who remain standing are looking over our shoulder — not because of the fear of losing our jobs, too, but just to get a couple of gulps of air before we jump back into a workload twice the size than it used to be.

The most serious deficit during serious economic downturns isn’t the lack of workers, it’s a lack of perspective. Oddly enough, perspective often is missing during good times, as well, and in some cases, is more dangerous. So, my best advice for 2010 is to share what you’ve learned about times like these with your staff, who like you, are overworked and uneasy about the year ahead. Like my thoughts below, your perspective may be the gift during this holiday season that keeps on giving.

• You always are in a position to help make or break the organization. Don’t allow bad times to panic you or anyone else. Managing good times is even harder because they are not as challenging, which leads to complacency. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is just another way of saying, “That’s the way we’ve always done it,” a philosophy that can hide a multitude of sins.

• Being thankful for a job shouldn’t happen only during recessions. We should show that we appreciate our jobs by working hard at it. What we will learn will benefit us longer than our employers.

• You never will have enough help or money or sufficient resources. Bad economies, however, remind us of that in painful ways, especially in recent decades, as top managers are forced to balance budgets on the backs of smaller staffs.

• In government or private business, the employees’ prime motivation isn’t profit or providing services. It’s keeping their jobs — and the best way is to help achieve the organization’s goals.

• Help others you work with and take time to talk with friends, former colleagues and even strangers who are interested in jobs — including those seeking one, keeping the one they have or just learning how they need to prepare for it.

• Bad times, like good times, don’t last forever. That becomes more difficult to remember when you’re living through either of those extremes. Providing a balance during bad times when people are worried or tempering the irrational exuberance that surfaces during go-go years is your responsibility.

• Always remain level headed as the powerful winds of economic change rock the ship of state. Or as my father used to remind me when we talked about the difficult parts of life: “Keep the car on the road, son.”

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