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Don’t allow it to get all over you

Last week I worked with my team at an Incubator seminar in our business academy, next door to our corporate offices. Incubator is four days of non-stop training, one-on-one sessions with owners and evenings at my home, debriefing with my team over dinner and adult beverages. A side benefit to being immersed in working the Incubator is being cut off from the news about the economy and the stock market.

Nevertheless, the state of the economy at home and abroad is on our minds. For me, I was unsettled by the weeks of political wrangling in Washington over the debt ceiling. The daily barrage of bickering over the nation’s massive debt is not what any of us needed while we focus on leading our companies through to something that resembles an “economic recovery.” And as predicted, the debt ceiling raised cataclysmic “what if’s” of America defaulting on its debt.

And then the news of financial instability in Europe and a tanking stock market seemed to spew all over everyone like a global funk. Just as we were feeling somewhat optimistic that we had weathered the recession, feelings of financial uncertainty and fear are once again all over us.

The good news is that we have a choice to make. We can buy into the economic negativity or we can simply choose to go positive. In fact, as business leaders, we can choose to go so positive that our optimism spreads to others.

Here are some absolutely positive no-compromise strategies that fend off and dust off the toxic negativity that cloud your ability to seize the opportunities that exist all around you:

  • See the possibilities: Every storm is followed by blue skies. It’s the law of the universe. A fire will destroy a forest, but it will grow back more lush than before. Japan is recovering from the tsunami. The Great Recession was followed by years of prosperity. A new tower is rising from the ashes at Ground Zero. Look for and focus on the wonderful possibilities that surround and await you. Going positive can do that.

  • Use your mind filter: Each of us has the capacity to filter out thoughts we don’t like. I’m not saying you should ignore reality - just keep it in perspective. More importantly, limit your exposure to news and data that brings you down. Going positive can do that.

  • Stay on the offensive: Funky economic times are ripe with opportunities. While everyone else is hunkering down waiting for the other shoe to drop, get aggressive and charge forward. Keep seeking out little wins. By the time your competition realizes that there wasn’t a second shoe, you’ll be on fertile ground, picking away at the low hanging fruit. Going positive can do that.

  • Lead courageously: Flip your mental switches to positive and you’ll discover a new bounce in your step. You’ll find power in “yes, we can.” Courageous leaders inspire others to rise to the challenge to achieve goals that were once considered unattainable. Going positive can do that.

  • Believe in yourself: So maybe things aren’t perfect in your company. Maybe your credit card debt is scary. Maybe your landlord is totally uncooperative. Maybe you’ve had some turnover and lost some good people. Every company has stuff behind the curtain it doesn’t like. But your company is alive and functioning. You survived the worst the recession could throw at you while others gave up and went out of business. Give yourself some credit. Stand tall. Be proud. Going positive can do that.


The no-compromise leader is resilient. The no-compromise leader doesn’t buy into or allow negativity to infect his or her thinking. The no-compromise leader achieves what others do not by staying positive.

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Please share your thoughts with me about today’s Monday Morning Wake-Up. Click below to comment.

Neil Ducoff, Founder & CEO of Strategies and author of No-Compromise Leadership

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