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Frustration Friday: Fear Itself

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I spent a lot of Frustration Friday's ragging on the people that brought us our current financial meltdown and assorted other economic and business incompetencies.  I don't think I can be blamed for it, and if you do blame me for it, I probably don't care anyway.

But I want to turn it down a notch for a moment to talk about something related to the subject of "morons that helped the economic meltdown."

I think they're afraid.

Let's take a look at the average person involved in loan scamming, weird investment foofaraw, and in general people who've run their business (or the economy) into the ground.  I'm guessing that despite their other negative traits, they've got to have an inkling, however repressed, that they've done some massively stupid things that screwed the world up.  It may be no more than a scintillating spark of tepid regret, but it's probably there.

Now, let us consider how these people must feel when that twinge of guilt and realization hits them, if only for a mere moment of ironic introspection.

They must feel afraid.

What do you do when, down deep, you know that you helped screw up the lives of millions?  Of billions?

What do you do when you realize, if only for a searing split second, that you are responsible for the horrors you see in the news?

What do you do when you realize, before you repress it, that those people yelling on the news are yelling at you.

Simple.  You've got to feel afraid.  Not even a specific fear, just the general horrible fear that everything has gone to hell, you're one of the responsible parties, and you have no solution.  It's the fear of failure, of retribution, of unsurety, of disgrace, and more all roled into one painful pill to swallow.

So, I'm not calling for us to all pity the politicians, pundits, and scam artists who got us into this mess.  But I am noting that it might be easier to deal with our economic problems and the Great Recession's fallout if we remember that some of the folks that got us into this are probably terrified of what they've done.

After all when you're scared you can face it, or you can avoid it.  What kind of tactics are we seeing right now . . .

– Steven Savage

Frustration Friday: Desperately Seeking Lex Luthor

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One thing that plagues our culture and consciousness, derived from a devilish mix of popular culture and paranoid polemics of the past is the belief that Some Vast Competent Conspiracy is responsible for our problems.  Too many people believe, even if they won't admit it, that all our problems are due to some well-organized conspiracy running all things.

Sorry, we should be so lucky.

We lack Lex Luthor.  We're denied Doctor Doom.  We're sans Sinestro.  When you watch things that go wrong with the world, such as . . . I dunno, the Fraudclosure mess . . . you don't need supervillains and constant conspiracies to explain them.  In fact, if our world was run by secret brilliant conspirators they'd probably do a hell of a lot better.

Here's what you need to know – greedy people with issues manipulate gritty STUPID people with issues.  That's it.  That's all you need to know about most of the pain, suffering, and stupidities in the world.

So look, yes conspiracies are fun in fiction, but frankly most ideas about them are ridiculous.  They distract us from real issues – and from how easily people are manipulated by people that aren't like Sephiroth, The Leader, or Darth Vader.  We get too busy looking for conspiracies and miss what's right in front of our face.

If you're going to face the economic issues of the day, the job issues of the day, you'll be well served by abandoning the idea that anything relating to vast, conspiratorial competence runs the world.  Greed, stupidity, ignorance, and pathology explain quite enough thank you.

Remember.  If Lex Luthor was real, you'd probably have an easier time finding a job.  At least Luthorcorp would be hiring.

– Steven Savage

Steve Explains: The Un-Crush Objects and His Broken Heart

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Last week I talked about what makes a Fan-To-Pro Crush Object and/or a Resume Worthy company, at least for myself.  In figured this week I'd take the time to explain what gives he the hiring heebie-jeebies when I see a company in the news.

So in no real order, here are the red lights that set off my warning bells . . . and push me into mixed metaphors.  Not all of these immediately make me say "hey, no one should work there," but as they build up . . .

  • Job cuts.  Look, not all job cuts are bad, but still when you need less people, then certainly I'm not sure that you're resume-worthy for the readership.  Also I find they're often made in desperation.
  • No direction.  Who are you and what are you doing, company?  If I can't make it out and all I see is meandering, then I'm going to be concerned you're not a target for the readership's career choices.  Size doesn't matter here.
  • Bad location.  Good companies can be anywhere, but some places show more promise than others.  As cool as you may be, do people want to live where you area?  For that matter, are you in the kind of place where investors rain down Venture Capital or not?
  • Clueless advertising and marketing.  Sure it's almost certainly done by some outsourced agency who creates your ads and adulations, but if you can't give those people good direction or clamp down on dumb ideas, then you've got an issue.  Bad management is bad management.
  • No stability.  Stability is a bit hard to classify – or expect – in tis day and age, but at least make a try.  If everything is changing all the time, you're moving, the product is changing, etc. it doesn't look dynamic and innovative, it looks desperate and insipid.
  • Disrespect.  Show some respect for your customers, employees, and competitors.  Otherwise you're not only a jerk, you're undermining your relations with the people that pay the bills, do the work, or can crush you.  It also shows that you've got too many people who are egomaniacs, and even if they succeed, the company may not.
  • The wrong kind of retro.  There's old-school that's hip, then there's just backwards and clueless.  If you're old-school, show enough savvy to show you know it – otherwise you may look backwards or even be backwards.
  • A lack of a sense of humor.  A lack of humor is a lack of awareness.  I am not too turned off by not being humorous, but an extreme lack of humor is a dangerous thing.
  • Follow the leader.  Innovate, OK?  Even a little bit?  If you imitate at least imitate your way?  Otherwise you seem unoriginal and unoriginality isn't a confidence builder.
  • Doesn't provide value.  If all you do is shift cash around and do nothing then I'm not interested

So there's the rather abstract guide to what makes me take a company out of my "the readers should work for it" lists.  I hope it helps.  it was at least therapeutic to write on my end.

– Steven Savage