Scott Patterson - December 12, 2012

The impacts of the global financial crises and turbulent economic markets have now been with us since early 2008. That is, since early 2008 we have seen equity markets around the world suffer significant corrections. Economic conditions inside huge markets like the USA and the European Union have been turbulent and depressed. Locally we have experienced changing, and some would say unstable government at federal and state levels, along with droughts and life threatening floods. The Australian dollar has been at historically high levels impacting significantly on our exporters. That is, for almost five years economic and social conditions have been testing at the very least.

In order to help both myself and others deal with these conditions I have been using the analogy of sailing through a severe storm. When the wind is howling, the rain pelting down and you are trying to negotiate huge seas how do you manage? The answer may seem obvious. You put on your life jacket, batten down the hatches, keep your eyes firmly focused on the horizon so as not to become too short sighted or pessimistic, and keep riding the waves and forging ahead. You keep doing this until the weather clears, the sun comes out and you sail out into calm and serene seas. The problem is that this storm and its aftermath have now been going on for almost five years.

Having grown tired of hearing my storm analogy, my wife recently went out and bought a plaque which now hangs prominently on our kitchen wall. The words on the plaque read as follows: “Life isn’t all about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning to dance in the rain”. I think there is a lesson here for us all. When times are a little uncertain it is a natural reaction to become defensive, conservative and tentative with our decision making. This lack of confidence has been evident at all levels of business as well as the public sector. We need to remember that there are still opportunities out there and reasons to be positive. If we are not open to opportunities they can simply pass us by.

While there is certainly patchiness in our economy many businesses are doing very well.

So, dust off your gum boots and let’s dance our way out of 2012 and into 2013!