When Life Gets Tough
Part Four: How About Some Positive Leadership?
By Adam Radzik
Consultant to Professional Firms

This morning, a respected news network described the US economy as being on the verge of total collapse. I understand that the media wants to sell air time, and the more fear, the more viewers tune in; the more viewers, the higher the ratings and the higher the fees the media can charge for air time.

On the other hand, part of our problem is a crisis of confidence, with its resulting negative effect on the economy in general and retail in particular. I believe that media leadership is acting irresponsibly and creating excessive fear and panic.

What about the rest of our leadership? What messages are they sending out? I was conversing with a governor who confessed that he had no idea what to do and said he had never faced anything as terrible as this during his lifetime. It wasn’t the right answer.

What about the messages that are being sent by our business leaders? Some are wearing grim expressions, gritting their teeth and saying nothing at all. They are leaving employees to wonder if they are not anticipating the worst and simply not revealing their pessimism.

Some leaders are broadcasting doom and gloom messages: “Things aren’t great now, but just wait till 2009. The economy is really going to tank then.” These are also not the right answers.

As I have said many times in my consulting career, business is simply a form of economic war. In war, the ultimate task of the generals, colonels, majors, captains, lieutenants and sergeants is to rally the troops, to give hope to the troops, to encourage the troops, to lift morale, to convince the soldiers that no matter how fierce the battle, the army will win the war.

Every military officer knows that a demoralized army will not act resourcefully, imaginatively or creatively. They will not exert herculean efforts. They will not stretch beyond their current abilities. They will not act with determination and resolve. They will not come in early and stay late. They will not be motivated to look at the problem from a completely different perspective. They will not fight a hard fight and give it their all.

The leader who predicts doom and gloom and the leader who says nothing at all invite defeat and failure.

The leader who acknowledges the challenge and broadcasts messages of optimism, of resiliency, of commitment, of respect for the company and the service it performs, of admiration for the talent and the dedication of the workforce, of determination to overcome all obstacles —that is a leader deserving of our respect. That leader will get the most out of his/her troops.

Who should be regularly giving these positive messages to the employees? Every person in management and every person who one day would like to be in management.

In 1967 when the state of Israel was surrounded by Arab nations poised to attack, Golda Meir stood up in the Knesset, raised her hand and said, “I vote to live. Who will vote with me?” There was a moment of silence and then the entire Knesset rose in agreement and cheered. One week later, Israel won the Six Day War.

Comedy Corner

Julie Andrews, actress, sang these original lyrics to the music of “My Favorite Things” for AARP at Radio City:

Maalox and nose drops and needles for knitting,
Walkers and handrails and new dental fittings,
Bundles of magazines tied up in string,
These are a few of my favorite things.

Cadillacs and cataracts, and hearing aids and glasses,
Polident and Fixodent and false teeth in glasses,
Pacemakers, golf carts and porches with swings,
These are a few of my favorite things.

When the joints ache, when the hips break,
When the eyes grow dim,
Then I remember the great life I’ve had, And then I don’t feel so bad.

(Julie received a four-minute standing ovation.)