My colleague Chris Cavanaugh recently made the observation that people find themselves in one of two groups these days: lamenting or inventing.

Many of us are looking backwards and lamenting. We grieve what has been taken away, either from us personally, or someone we know:

* our retirement account
* our job
* our house
* our club membership
* our assumptions about the way life works
* our confidence that we know what we are doing

“It’s only when the tide goes out that you learn who’s been swimming naked.”
– Warren Buffett

He was considered a legend in his industry.  Wealthy individuals from around the country asked if they could be his clients; many were turned away.  Past chairman of the NASDAQ.  Former board of governors member of the National Association of [...]

“Fear, like joy or curiosity, is contagious among beasts and birds, as it is among men . . . . Animals are afraid on general principles.  Anything new and strange excites their suspicions.  In a herd of animals, cattle or horses, fear quickly becomes a panic and rages like a conflagration.  Cattle men in the [...]

Many are calling these events [in the financial markets] unprecedented. Leaders can be paralyzed by them; or they can “choose” to grow and respond accordingly.

So here are some lessons from a Leader guiding his company through crisis for a little over a year now, and getting some traction.

A partial list of what Alan Mulally inherited when he took the CEO job at Ford in the Fall of 2006 – the “Brutal Facts:”

* A divided company, actually a lot of different companies under one roof, each with a leader going in a different direction
* Tight cash flow with a real risk of running out altogether
* A built-in $3,400 expense premium on every finished product based on onerous labor costs
* Complexity of business systems that predecessors had been unable to untangle
* Infighting and turf wars among his direct reports
* Lots of elaborate plans (marketing, manufacturing, sales, product) followed by poor execution
* A talented and dedicated team of workers (the problems lay mostly with management, not the workers!)

At lunch last week in Charlotte, home to big banks reporting record losses, my friend sat down and said, “Well, at least we can celebrate Ford’s good news.”

And you may ask yourself
How do I work this?
And you may ask yourself
Where is that large automobile?
And you may tell yourself
This is not my beautiful house!
And you may tell yourself
This is not my beautiful wife!

– From “Once in a Lifetime” by David Byrne & the Talking Heads

If you’re in your 30’s, it’s coming.

In your 40’s? You sense it or know you’re in the middle of it.

50’s – it’s either the best thing that ever happened to you, or you’re wondering if you missed an opportunity.

Mid-life. I’m having more conversations with Leaders lately about this particular time-zone.

Uncertain times?

Let’s see . . a stock market that no one can forecast . . . a presidential race completely up for grabs . . . and a 31 year-old trader who just cost his company $7.2 billion.

What a great time for Leaders to step up.

I read a great story last week about one Leader whose company is thriving amidst a crisis that has tanked most of the rest of his industry.