The Under-reaction/
Over-reaction Response
By Adam Radzik
Marketing & Sales Coach

Sam and Cheryl Levine worked hard to make their family prosper and build a nice life for themselves. Sam was an attorney at a legal firm in Roseland, New Jersey, and Cheryl was an accountant at a firm in New York City. They had two teenage children, Seth and Ashley.

Seth came home one day raving that his best friend, John, showed him his brand- new 64-inch plasma television. He gushed that John's television set was part of a surround sound entertainment center. When he spoke about it, his eyes glistened. He wanted to know when their family would throw out the 48-inch Stone- Age relic that they were currently using and buy the latest that Panasonic had to offer.

Ashley returned from college in Massachusetts extremely depressed. Everybody except her was going to Jamaica for spring break and staying at the posh Palace Star Hotel right on the ocean. She swore that the poorest parents were taking out second mortgages on their homes in order to help their college children unwind from their demanding studies. She cried inconsolably.

Cheryl had never liked their living and dining room. Her sister, Shelley, had a much larger home and hence Passover Seders and family Thanksgiving celebrations were always held at her house. Cheryl didn't think that was right or fair, and she wanted to build a large addition that would make their house far more spacious and elegant.

Sam lusted to belong to the Verdant Golf Country Club, but initiation and meals were very expensive. On the other hand, the club would be a good place to bring clients and entertain prospects. Sam believed membership could be justified based on business generation alone.

One year went by, and Seth got his giant television set, Ashley went to Jamaica for spring break, Cheryl had the home addition put on and Sam joined the Verdant Golf Country Club.

Then the recession hit. Cheryl was afraid she would lose her job, as she had no book of business. Sam was concerned that he would be asked to contribute capital to his firm.

The family was immediately put on an extreme austerity budget. There would be no eating out. There would be no going to movies. Visitors were discouraged, as they might require the consumption of food. Room temperature was dramatically reduced and coat wearing became the norm. Lights were forbidden unless the room was to be occupied for at least fifteen minutes, and in place of electric lights, flashlights or candles were encouraged. Cable television was permanently terminated and library reading was fostered. Presents and tipping were viewed with glaring disapproval. Meat and snacks were removed from the family diet as being far too expensive and wasteful. The Levine family sunk into a significant depression.

Moral of the story: We tend to under react to a potential threat and then overreact when the same threat becomes more real. Our reactions are often extreme, racing from one end of the continuum to the other. Both extremes hurt us — and by the way, whatever happened to moderation?

Americans were spending 150% of their income but have now closed their purses so tightly that our economy is becoming blue from lack of activity. Our companies had been spending recklessly and now question whether they should pay the bills of their most important vendors.

Excess is unwise and undesirable. Let's all try to calm down. How about if we try the middle of the road for a few miles? Friends, let's just calm down.

Comedy Corner

Stop being late to work: Tom had this problem of getting up late in the morning and was always late for work. His boss was mad at him and threatened to fire him if he didn't do something about it. So Tom went to his doctor, who gave him a pill and told him to take it before he went to bed. Tom slept well and in fact beat the alarm in the morning by almost two hours. He had a leisurely breakfast and drove cheerfully to work.

"Boss," he said, "The pill actually worked!"

"That's all fine," said the boss, "but where were you yesterday?"