Economics/Geekonomics

Frustration Friday: Be a little worried

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Let's not mince words.

The world economy is not in good shape, and the economy that affects you directly, dear readers (mostly US, North America, and UK judging by my records) has problems.  The economic situation for many is at best a recession, and at most a growing catastrophe that still has yet to play out in our lives, bank accounts, and futures.

Yet I meet a lot of people who don't care, or don't pay attention.  Some are in this state due to apathy or indifference.  Others don't care out of ignorance.  The worst are people who are very convinced they know what's going on, and of course are dreadfully wrong.

If you are not at least a bit worried about the economy you are either very well off or wrong.  There's no middle ground here.

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Weekly Challenge – What’s the Next Crisis?

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I'm not an unnecessarily cynical person.  I just think of myself as cautious and forward thinking.

Think of me as a necessarily cynical person instead.

In my career I've been impacted by many recessions, economic changes, business changes, etc.  I've been there in the dot-bomb, I got cut in mergers, I was there when industries melted down.  I tried to keep on top of those issues with a moderate amount of success.

We're still in a recession or the tail end of a recession as I write this.  I expect we've got a recovery that's going to take 2-3 years on average, but the long term recovery will mean pain.  Dubai is having its own economic meltdown.

So, despite the fact we're in the middle of a financial crisis, here's your challenge for the week.

1) Ask yourself what will the next economic crisis be once this one passes and has been forgotten by the short sighted.
2) Ask what this means for your career – and your ideal career.

You don't have to be totally cynical, but it never helps to keep an eye out and notice what may go wrong in the economy of your nation and the world or what trends are coming to an end (if you wish to sound less cynical).

So go on, what do you think?  Me, I'm betting the next decade will bring a few general corporate mergers and collapses caused by the economic fallout and the changing economy, and  probably a mini-financial crisis in the next 5 years when a few more financial institutions can't keep faking it.

– Steven Savage