Staff won't mop up your tears

I refuse to be negative and panicky about all this recession stuff. Sure it is impacting our world, but it is certainly not the end of it as the media can sometimes lead people to believe. The more that people walk around with crappy negative attitudes the more negative things happen. If people smile, keep their head up and KNOW tomorrow will be a better day – it actually will be. I’ve read some similar “enough with the glum” blogs of late:

“This afternoon I was at the hair salon and next to me a stylist's client was loudly hemming and hawing about how "bad" things are getting with the economy. And honestly I'm rolling my eyes, because here is a well-dressed woman dropping over $200 on her hair color and who valet parked her Mercedes out front. "Bad" - for most of this country - means you have one less flat-screen TV. "Bad" in some other countries means you could be living every day in fear of dying through starvation, or being tortured or murdered. THAT is bad. WE don't have it bad.Please, stop listening to "news", whose job it is to make you feel like everything is going to hell in a hand basket. TV news is not a "public service". It's a business. Fear attracts ratings, and ratings sell ads. If they told you "all is well" you wouldn't have to watch anymore. And you must NEVER forget - there is no better way to maintain complete control of your life and income than being an entrepreneur! In fact, some of the greatest fortunes have been made during historical "recessions". (You don't hear about THAT on the news.) The GOOD news is, there are ways you can not only maintain your revenues during these times, but make MORE money than ever!” (Online entrepreneur Alexandria K. Brown publishes the award-winning 'Highlights on Marketing & Success' weekly ezine with 36,000+ subscribers. Subscribe at www.AlexandriaBrown.com)

"It's getting pretty crappy out there. People are getting scared and grumpy. Your job: Stay positive. Be friendly. Smile. This will turn around. It always does. That's why they're called "cycles." It sucks when you're in the down side, but it will absolutely, definitely turn around sooner or later. People will flock to be with you (and do business with you) if you can focus on the eventual upside, and have a positive attitude. People will shun you (and your business) if you are a whiny grouch. Your job: Show your community a path back to the better place. Give people hope and they will give you the support you need to make that hope a reality." (From http://www.damniwish.com/2008/12/your-job-is-to.html )

If as a boss you are sporting the "boy the shi-et has hit the fan" attitude and are down in the dumps your staff probably won't want to stick around and help mop up your tears. They'll find someone who knows they can cope with market changes. Positive energy is contagious, negative energy is boring and draining.