Pollyanna or Polly-Glutton for Punishment

Whether we’re talking about the recession or the latest celebrity mishap, my close friends sometimes refer to me as a “Pollyanna” – always seeing the brighter side of the situation. You know the type: the eternal optimist … the glass really is half full … give a person five chances.
That’s why a Financial Times article, “Four Reasons to be Cheerful,” caught my eye. Just before the writer prognosticates the four reasons, he offers a quick antidote from Peter Shaw, a partner with Praesta. One of Shaw’s C-Suite executives asked his chairman to tell him about the most important thing he should be doing in a financially turbulent economy like this. The answer? “Smile.”
 The writer’s second reason out of four, “Opportunities as Others Retreat” really resonates with me; any provider of B2B products or services should be doing whatever possible to seize the opportunities in this marketplace. The losing companies are moving out – failing because they did not change their mindset or business model in time. The winners are the ones capitalizing on the here and now. They are doubling their marketing budgets because they recognize how to fill a potential window to make themselves more visible.
 These will be the companies and organizations you’ll remember for the long-term.
 I have an accounting firm client that shares my optimism. Instead of beginning a sentence with “In this economy,” he begins with, “In this new economy.” I think that, alone, speaks volumes.