The Economic Crisis is a Test of Character
It's fascinating to watch how different people are responding to the professional and financial challenges this crisis is creating. We live in a society where many people's self esteem derives from their job and how much money they make and their character is tested when times get hard.
A brief disclaimer: I want to be clear here that I am not referring to the severe challenges of someone losing their home or all their savings -- I am instead referring to the professional's challenge of the job being harder, needing to switch jobs, people around you being down and losing money in the market.
The test of character is described well in yesterday's opinion piece in the New York Times about investment-professional psychology by Dr Richard Friedman. Dr Friedman is a professor of psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College and he treats hedge fund managers among his patients.
He describes one who initially had to manage his panic anxiety as a result of his losses but then, once he had that under control "something else emerged. He came in one day looking subdued and plopped down in the chair. "I'm over the anxiety, but now I feel like a loser." This from a supremely self-confident guy who was viewed by his colleagues as an unstoppable optimist.
He was not clinically depressed: his sleep, appetite, sex drive and ability to enjoy himself outside of work were unchanged. This was different.
The problem was that his sense of success and accomplishment was intimately tied to his financial status; he did not know how to feel competent or good about himself without this external measure of his value."
Dr Friedman observes that over the last couple of months he has seen an increase in male investors who have had their confidence crushed by their poor performance in the markets. And it's notable that he also observes that women are not typically responding the same way.
Over the last month I have found myself counseling friends and acquaintances as challenges arise and they look for help -- and I find myself more often than not advising them to stiffen their spines, take more personal risk and use the crisis as an opportunity to grow their careers and prospects.
One recent example is of a senior manager let go from Cadence Design in their recent layoff -- anxious to get a reference from me as he tries to get a job at Synopsys -- the only other major company in the EDA industry but more of the same. This guy is 40. By doing the obvious thing he was missing the opportunity to break out and change his career into an industry that is growing vs. EDA which has some serious structural issues. I walked him through the thought experiment of what his career will be like 10 years from now based on the choices he makes today. It's a sobering exercise and as a result he's now looking at growth industries outside of EDA too.
In another case I had dinner with a friend last night who spent the first 30 minutes complaining about how hard it was, how depressing, how difficult to get the other people in his firm to deal with the challenges, and after allowing him the indulgence I then verbally smacked him. He has a choice. He can be dragged down by the reactions of the people around him, or he can step up and lead them out of their issues by driving to decisions without giving in to the indulgence of complaining. In his case it's a choice of self discipline -- to habitually lead instead of giving in to the emotion of the crowd. (I'm fortunate that we're good enough friends that he stayed for dinner instead of telling me to get lost at my presumption).
In contrast I am inspired by my girlfriend who runs a Silicon Valley recruiting business which is severely challenged by the downturn, and has had a host of health issues, and yet she leads, smiles and soldiers on. Or my board member who runs a hedge fund and describes his daily life today as "catching falling knives" and yet he stays strategic, stays focused on executing the long term opportunities this market is creating and still has time to advise me and make me laugh. At least I was able to make him laugh too by suggesting he wear leather gloves.
A crisis of confidence -- which is what we are living through -- is an opportunity to discover your character. In good times everyone does well -- I think of several of my tech friends who were extraordinarily successful because they were in the right place at the right time -- and confused this with being smarter. But in bad times leaders emerge. People who can navigate the storm and bring others along with them. People who see the opportunity and lead others to it. So if you are ambitious and have self discipline this can be an opportunity not a crisis. And I am not talking about how much money you make -- that will follow later if you are patient. I am talking about what you choose to do with your career and your leadership potential at this moment in time.
Follow Penny Herscher on Twitter: www.twitter.com/pennyherscher
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I was surprised that I put so much of my self-worth "value" into my investments, too. I felt quite toppled for a month or so while I had to reassess my "worth", putting stock into my actual talents rather than the $$ I had amassed (and then lost).
However, this has been helpful, because I've seen that now is definitely the time to take risks. Similar to Christie Hefner's choice to step down from Playboy, inspired by Obama's call to action, I have also begun to consider changing my life goals. Staying in the same line of work almost feels like a yoke. In school I had heard a quote saying that in the old days a job was like a train, you stay on the same track until you retire. But the same quote said that a modern career needed to be managed more like an off-road vehicle, able to take new turns and outwit obstacles in one's path. But then, I'm almost bothered by that advice because I hate to view my life as a career. I want to view my work as something that I do with passion...that I happen to be paid for doing.
It's not hard to figure out why men measure themselves by their financial success. It's because that's how women measure them. I would think this would be fairly obvious.
"The problem was that his sense of success and accomplishment was intimately tied to his financial status; he did not know how to feel competent or good about himself without this external measure of his value."
That, for me, was the heart of this piece. Though the author pointed this out she did not quite realize that in American culture this is has become an ingrained part of what we are led to believe the American Dream is; material success is an outward and inward measure of one's worth as a citizen within US society. We are bombarded with this ideal daily through work, the media and our education system. Having enough is never enough. Welcome to the Consumerist Ball.
Penny has a good point, in times of crisis exists opportunity, here is an article that lists the winners and losers in an economic collapse.
http://www.iplanretirement.com/retirementblog/economic-collapse-winners-losers/
There is a cheesy 26 page book titled "Who moved my cheese?", but the message is correct, when times change so must you. I mean, if you are one of the tens of thousands of laid off bankera, is this the right moment to be looking for a job in banking?
Has anyone else noticed that Chris Matthews, after all this time, still doesn't understand transmission delay? He'll state a question, and instead of waiting a second for the remote person to hear it, he starts talking and steps on the response. It's broadcasting 101, and he screws it up a dozen times in every one of his interviews.
John Kerry and a horse walk into a bar. Bartender says - why the long faces? Hahahaha.
A hedge fund manager walks into a shrinks office...........................
On the one hand, I agree with many of Penny Herscher's assertions, including that:
- the way we respond to bad times defines our character.
- those who are fortunate enough to have the capacity to survive are not entitled to whine
- those who aren't so fortunate don't lack character
On the other, I have to disagree with Penny Herscher's assessment that what we are living through is "a crisis of confidence". This is a truth, but it is a semantic truth of limited utility. What we are living through is, among other things, is a period of massive asset deflation and rulers who have governed on lies for years. The loss of confidence is quite real, but it is an end result, and not a cause.
I believe the author is saying: if you're in a car headed for a cliff, stop whining and apply the brakes. This sternly worded admonition is not intended to convict those whose car has already been forced off the cliff.
That Ms. Herscher has sharp words for those in the first car does not mean that she is not sympathetic to the suffering of those in the second. (She goes out of her way to say so.)
Essentially, this post is a modest call-to-action. I believe the (surprisingly) negative comments may represent cries of anguish from those who once would have responded to such a call. Too many of us have already been forced off the cliff.
I'm self-employed in a serice business that has really taken a hit in this economy. If I can make it through this nightmare and come out on the other side, still owning my home, I'll considering myself lucky. That gnawing worry is always there and it's hard not to feel the fear. My husband is a high-end contractor here in NYC and so much business "trickled down" from the Wall Street sector. All those hedge fund guys with mutli-million dollar bonuses! (My husband actually did Madoff's son's brownstone a few years back) My husband's company previously never took jobs less than $5million(!) but recently two BILLIONAIRE clients backed out on their jobs. If THOSE guys are hurting, that does not bode well for the rest of us. (At this point, they'll take pretty much anything.)
Business are closing all over the place -- not just the large chain stores which employ a lot of people, but smaller local stores. It's depressing as hell and stressful. Stress leads to all kinds of health issues, which leads to more stress. Invest in anti-depressants, that's MY advice!
Sure, it's helpful to remain upbeat but damn, you'd have to be on some serious drugs to remain upbeat in THIS enviroment. Seems like NOBODY is safe!
There is an excellent book called "The Worry Cure" and it gets to the heart of fear and inertia when faced with challenges or chronic worry. A crises of confidence is probably the most important aspect. Without confidence, there is no hope, no motivation and no relief. If confidence and character go hand in hand to get through this time or any other time, then a lot of us will be tested further.
Peggy, What world do you live in? Oh, one that is filled with brushing elbows with board members, business owners, etc. You just cannot separate the economic devastation occurring to families, from one's self-esteem during this downturn. They work hand in hand. Whiners that you may know who still have paychecks and stable incomes but are worried and are stressed due to higher work loads, need to stiffen up. They still have jobs, and maybe, can pay down their personal debt. There are millions of people who are not so luck, and live hand to mouth. How about trading places with them for a few months.
http://eye-on-washington.blogspot.com
All,
I appreciate most articles and writers on the Huffngton Post. While most embrace a "feet on the ground" view of reality, there are those who are quite obviously living on some cloud somewhere.
Yes, remain optimistic, collectively we'll try to keep our chins up. But trading optimism for realism is never a fair trade. Especially when those living in their prozac-rosey-red-glasses bubble forget that there are reasons why we're in the mess we're in.
When those in a position of influence ignore that other's in positions of influence are responsible for the mess we're in.
We'll move forward- that's what we do. But don't think for a second that anyone is ignoring the influx of news indicating that the rich are indeed getting richer, while We the People keep footing the bill.
Ms. Herscher, the words fail me.
Please go back and read the second paragraph: A brief disclaimer. Penny Herscher is not talking about people who have lost their homes, jobs or savings. She's talking about the tendency of who have had it relatively easy thus far in life to whine because life has gotten tougher. What's she's saying is true--good times don't test one's character they way bad times do. When people talk about turning points in their lives, it's usually times of challenge, rather than good times, that brought a personal epiphany.
These must be the whiners that Phil Gramm was talking about! ;-D
Do you actually know anyone who works blue collar?
Here's the thing. That would be most Americans.
And they have been getting screwed for decades now by the people you seem to be talking to in this article. So if some of those folks are feeling some remorse or feelings of failure, it may be the reemergence of a conscience reconnection to reality.
I'm all for optimism.
But the mega-mess we have now was not caused by a bad attitude. It was caused by greed, fraud, and social injustice, none of which can be fixed by visiting your shrink or your "life coach" (and f.y.i., most Americans can't afford these).
We need fundamental change in government and a government that serves its people, and not just the ones who are stuffing dirty money in the pockets of elected officials.
Our government is not performing its core function of protecting the life, liberty, and property of the people, nor is it promoting the general welfare of the people.
Instead we get lied into phoney wars that only benefit the MIC and Big Oil, increasingly diminished civil liberties, and our treasury is being looted. Our economic future has been stolen. Our government has become little more than a tool for the rich and powerful who have now bleed our nation and its people dry.
We need optimism, but we also need justice and government that will serve the People, and not just the ones with the most money.
Just to argue, the economic crisis is not a matter of character, it's a matter of arithmetic, if you will.
The matter of how to prosecute the Bush Boys, to include The Cheney Boys, will be a matter of character.
This will reveal Obama's character.
"The matter of how to prosecute the Bush Boys, to include The Cheney Boys, will be a matter of character. This will reveal Obama's character."
Well said. When crime goes unpushed it continues unchecked.
And I would only add that it is a test of character for us all, as ultimately government officials only get away with what the People allow them to get away with. Whether we will see a continuation of Congressional, MSM, and public complicity in Bush/Cheney wars, lies, crimes, and the looting of our children's economic futures: THAT is a test of character.
I am very optimistic about the Obama Adminstration. President-elect Obama has promised to end the war in Iraq, end the shameful practice of U.S. torture, reestablish the Rule of Law in our government and put Main Street before Wall Street.
He will be enticed to take another course, and obstructed if he continues to pursue real change and real justice consistent with what he has promised.
But our futures, and more importanlty those of our chidren and grandchildren depend on him maintaining fidelity to these promises.
We do not have time to waste on putting Bush/Cheney through the legal wringer. The entire world is on the brink of disaster, and there's no guarantee that we can fix this mess. While it would give us all a supreme amount of satisfaction, there is still a small minority in this country that would scream bloody murder. We would have a show circus, but meanwhile, we'd all be watching it on tvs in store windows because we'd be homeless.
The first time, Bush stole the election. But in 2004, we gave it away. It is the country that allowed Bush to stay in power and destroy the constitution, the economy, etc. We are just as guilty as he is!
None of that matters. Obama needs as many people as possible working together to fix this country. Putting Bush and Cheney on trial for war crimes (at least in this country) won't help the country. We can't look back, as Hillary said at the convention, "if you hear the dogs, keep going." Now, we just have to keep going.
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