3 Keys to Repairing the Economy
May 12th, 2010 by David Svet
To say that the recession has had a negative impact on retirement savings is a serious understatement. Rather than debate the legality, morality or responsibility to shareholders and other arguments related to the cause of the problem, I would like to open a conversation about how to fix the destruction. A lot of people are hurting far worse than they expected and probably far worse than they actually realize. Over the next twenty years millions of people will reach retirement unprepared for the twenty plus years that follow. Forty more years defined by the last decade does not strike me as a good time. Here are a few thoughts to ponder moving forward.
Cooperation – We will not get out of this on our own as individuals. Coalitions are needed to ensure that benefits are shared proportionately. No one can afford to ignore the global economy anymore. We need to cooperate accordingly. The corrupt notion that “I’ve got mine, you’re on your own,” cannot persist — the world is simply too small and interconnected.
Social Norms – I live in Kansas. It’s a relatively harsh place to live and people learned a long time ago that they need to watch each other’s back. I’m not from Kansas. It struck me as odd when I moved here. Well, it isn’t odd it’s awesome. Caring for your friends, neighbors, colleagues, employees, employers and strangers is the norm. Please understand that the area where I live in Kansas isn’t harsh, it’s now one of the wealthiest counties in the nation and is also considered one of the best places to live in America. That’s not an accident; it’s the result of positive social norms that span all walks of life enabling everyone to thrive.
Shared Values – Competitive spirit, mutual respect, team cooperation, and an intense desire for excellence are needed as core values. The experience economy is a step in the right direction. Redefining what it means to be successful, what is enough and what is valuable will go a long way toward avoiding the excesses of the past. Partisan bickering is destructive — no one wins. It doesn’t work for siblings, families, neighbors, sports teams, business units or governments and needs to be unilaterally rejected. The ancient Greeks succeeded as a culture through the shared value of the pursuit of excellence. Broad-scale sharing of a pursuit of excellence and respectfully celebrating the competitive spirit of accomplishment will lift all who participate.
I know this is a 50,000-foot flyover of the issue. But I don’t think it is purely altruistic and unachievable. Cooperation, positive social norms and shared values are needed to lift us out of the muck. Now we need to translate each of these into actionable efforts that are real. Over the next few weeks I hope to offer some ideas on this. Please share your thoughts with me.
Flint Hills, Kansas, USA. (Photograph by John Charlton/Kansas Geological Survey)
Great post Dave. With all the rhetoric put there, it’s great to see something honest. You touched on community, lots of research coming out about the much healthier lives people in strong supportive groups have. It is something that should be obvious, but as Jung says, the more global, nomadic, and detached we become from being fundamentally human, the more unhappy we will become. This post is spuring me to make real an innovative crowdsourcing idea I have. A personal one. I am tired of banging my head against business leaders who don’t understand that the whole world changed and that their MBA blinders need to be tossed aside. Going to start with a simple idea, honest, but game changing idea and see where it goes
Thanks Scott! It’s great to hear from you. I appreciate your input. You’re right, the world changed and the sooner we all realize it the sooner we can get to what needs to be done to thrive.
I hope you share what your doing with your crowdsourcing idea!
Dave