November 21, 2008
Another week with bad (or at least challenging) economic news. I suspect we all gasped in unison when the Dow went under 8000, and it seems to be more accurate to ask which firms aren’t laying off lawyers and staff than which are. Perhaps an overstatement, but not a radical overstatement. It seems like there’s bad news everywhere.
So I smiled today when I read this article from Hank Grezlak, Editor-in-Chief of The Legal Intelligencer. It starts with this:
The pessimists are pissing me off. Look, I’m not delusional. I know things are tough. The Dow dipped below 8,000 for the first time in five years the other day, the automobile industry is begging for a government bailout and everywhere you turn there’s another analyst or corporate suit talking about how bad the economy is and how they have no idea when the bad news is going to stop.
But I’m sick of the doomsayers. Most didn’t predict this mess, most don’t understand this mess and most have no clue how to get us out of it. So they might as well shut up. I mean, seriously, if you can’t explain what’s going on, then what good are all those MBAs?
…
I’m not suggesting we should all chant “the fundamentals of the economy are sound” and pretend that everything is sunny. But there’s a difference between understanding that bad things happen and times are tough and believing that nothing will ever get better. Greatness is rarely the result of a pessimistic view.
Times are tough. But if we’re going to get out of this, what’s needed is optimism, ingenuity, hard work, boldness and rethinking certain attitudes and focusing on long-term solutions. One of my late father’s favorite movies was Clint Eastwood’s “Heartbreak Ridge.” In it, Eastwood had a great mantra to describe the ideal mindset for Marines encountering adversity: “Improvise, adapt, overcome!” Words to live by in times like these.
Grezlak includes some specific suggestions for law firms and identifies areas of opportunity that are developing. His article is well worth a read.
Welcome back!
