Lessons Learned--and Passed Down
Posted: February 3, 2010 by Don Tyler
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Lessons Learned—and Handed Down
A man recently opened his mail to find a note from his bank with a returned check marked “NSF” (for non-sufficient funds.) After hearing all the difficulties that banks are having these days, he called their accounting department and asked, “Is it you……or me?”
In a recent visit with fruit growers in southern California, their accountant mentioned that his standard for “when the recession is over” is when the Fed goes five Fridays in a row without closing a bank. Of course, that is not the technical definition of the end of a recession, but it is the definition that reflects a healthy, stable economic environment for his clients based on his 30 years of experience.
We all have our standards for when we are doing better, getting worse, or just staying even. The most valuable standards are based on a logical, well-defined methodology. Some emotion tends to creep into those standards, but we need to avoid including those overwhelming emotions that difficult times create, and the poor decisions that can be made in their wake.
As we are beginning to see some glimmer of hope in these challenging times, it can be healthy to reflect on how we survived, the key decisions that helped our success, the decisions that we shouldn’t repeat, and how we would handle the situation again if it returns. These become those “lessons of a lifetime” that solidify our overall business savvy, to be passed on to future generations as they develop their position of predominance and success in whatever pursuits they choose.
A man recently opened his mail to find a note from his bank with a returned check marked “NSF” (for non-sufficient funds.) After hearing all the difficulties that banks are having these days, he called their accounting department and asked, “Is it you……or me?”
In a recent visit with fruit growers in southern California, their accountant mentioned that his standard for “when the recession is over” is when the Fed goes five Fridays in a row without closing a bank. Of course, that is not the technical definition of the end of a recession, but it is the definition that reflects a healthy, stable economic environment for his clients based on his 30 years of experience.
We all have our standards for when we are doing better, getting worse, or just staying even. The most valuable standards are based on a logical, well-defined methodology. Some emotion tends to creep into those standards, but we need to avoid including those overwhelming emotions that difficult times create, and the poor decisions that can be made in their wake.
As we are beginning to see some glimmer of hope in these challenging times, it can be healthy to reflect on how we survived, the key decisions that helped our success, the decisions that we shouldn’t repeat, and how we would handle the situation again if it returns. These become those “lessons of a lifetime” that solidify our overall business savvy, to be passed on to future generations as they develop their position of predominance and success in whatever pursuits they choose.
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