From Roosevelt to Roosevelt, the message is clear: Our biggest enemy is inability or unwillingness to act constructively when adversity strikes.
Teddy Roosevelt said, “In any moment of decision, the best thing to do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.”
FDR proclaimed, “The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.” He’s also responsible for the famous line from his first inaugural address: “…the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.”
Unfortunately, too many small-to-mid-sized businesses operate mainly from a place of fear. At the first sign of a downturn, they start tuning out the cacophony of bad news by burying their heads in the sand. Of course, once you bury your head in the sand, you—and your company—will run out of life-giving oxygen rather quickly.
Fear drives more business failures and economic malaise than any other downturn-related factor. Hope, determination and perseverance are the antidotes.
At this uncertain time, I call upon small to midsized businesses of America to find renewed hope, fortify it with determination, and rely on perseverance when the going gets tougher.
