John F. Kennedy said “Ask now what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.”

Those words seem lost to history during this election. A primary focus has become who will get the most tax breaks from which candidate.

The question I hope voters will ask is, “Who will be best for the country?” Sadly, the emphasis seems to be “Who will be best for me.”

Ultimately what is best for the country will be best for me and you; focusing on individual gains at the expense of others is a shortsighted strategy in politics just as it is in business.

Despite the changes in our economy, some fundamentals still apply: there is  no free lunch–somebody pays for it. Taxes are revenues used by the government to provide collective services we can’t provide individually. Rich, poor or middle-class, everyone benefits from policies that reward effort. And yes, those who take more risks and are willing to exert more effort generally benefit more. Why wouldn’t they? And our nation should do everything we can to create opportunities for all where employment is available and pay and benefits are fair.

What disappoints me most about the current state of our culture is the undercurrent of class warfare: us against them, whoever “us” and “them” are.

How about all of “US” (Americans) for each other? Do you think that’s what JFK had in mind?

Vote, but please be informed. Vote for ability, chararcter and the future of America, not soundbytes and empty promises.

And whoever is elected, whether you voted for them or not, let’s respect the outcome of the election process and support our new leaders. This is no time for whiners or sore-losers.

And please make your voice heard after election as well: communicate your views and beliefs in a way to creates dialogue with your fellow Americans and those in a position to create change. Our responsibility isn’t over after we cast our votes. We need to hold those we elect accountable.

May God bless America again.

Layoffs. Downsizing. Ugly news.

So what can you do to keep your job?

Be indispensable.

Those employees that are so needed, necessary and valued will be the least likely to be let go during a downturn.

That’s what an encore performer achieves. When I wrote The Encore Effect: How to Achieve Remarkable Performance in Anything You Do, I believed it was a critically important concept for staying competitive.

Now I believe it is critical for survival, not just prosperity.

I wish it weren’t so, but the events of the past 30 days have made it a whole different world. Companies will be making unpleasant decisions because they must, not because they want to. All but the goofiest will do whatever necessary to keep the indispensable encore performers (there are always exceptions to any rule).

What is your PDA: professional development agenda? What are you doing to take your work game “2LU”: two levels up? What new value are you creating? What big problems are you helping to solve? What improvements have you suggested and/or implemented?

Now is not the time for the faint of heart. Always go for the encore. Do whatever you can to become indispensable.

I’m pleased to announce a new resource all the Masterminds of Business, a video book training resource. The first video book includes six experts of customer service: Lisa Ford, Joe Calloway, Larry Winget, Shep Hyken, Scott McKain and me.

This innovative online resource provides you with over four hours of video-based customer service expertise. In addition to cutting-edge thinking on customer service, you’ll be educated and entertained by some of the best communicators in the business. A key benefit are the follow-up video reminders to reinforce key points from each of the presentations.

To experience a free sample of this learning tool, click here.

1. Don’t make promises you can’t keep. One of the quickest credibility destroyers is to be forced to make layoffs after you promised earlier that they wouldn’t happen.

2. If you don’t know, say so. There is more credibility in honesty than speculation.

3. Keep looking for opportunities. They’re still there, but harder to see given the current economic climate.

4. Re-recruit top talent. Underperformers hunker down in a tough job market; top talent realizes they still have options. Take care of your peak performers.

5. Be encouraging but avoid “happy talk.” The latter is naive and doesn’t recognize the real difficulties people are facing. Encouragement is a vote of confidence in the ability of your team to face the challenges successfully and be resilient.

6. Become rigorous in the pursuit of information. Much of what passes as news is nothing more than popular opinion. Dig deeper than others and qualify the information you find.

7. Be shrewd in budget cuts. Training and advertising are usually the first to go during a recession; they also create a bigger return on investment during a recession. “Common knowledge” is often an oxymoron when it comes to making cutbacks.

8. Keep playing to win. Many have become completely defensive and are simply playing not to lose.

Exchange: the present for the desired future

Experiment: with what works and what doesn’t

Envision: the specific outcome or end result

Enlist: others to achieve the vision

Enliven: your team to be inspired and work with purpose

Educate: so people become better in the process

Exchange: ideas about how to do everything better

Expand: thinking whenever possible

Exemplify: the commitment and behavior you desire

Encourage: everyone in the process

Exclaim: good news and who is responsible for it

Express: appreciation and credit

Enjoy: the journey

David Allen, in his bestselling book “Getting Things Done” says, “What potential crisis ought you be dealing with now?”

Ask yourself this question about your personal and professional life.

And think how different life might be today had Congress troubled themselves to ask this question a year or two ago.

Jewely Del Duca is an elementary teacher for Littleton Public Schools. In general, I believe teachers are remarkable people, but Jewely even more so. She has stage 4 cancer, and despite the pain, continues to teach her students each day. She wants to impart important lessons not just about academics but about life. For her remarkable story, click here.

Everyone is crazed about recent declines in the stock market, paper losses and who to blame for this debacle.

It just dawned on me: I forget to blame anyone for my stock gains in the past!

That’s right: in the last 20 years I’ve had some exceptional years when my stocks appreciated greatly. One year I averaged a 38% gain. Dang–I forgot to blame anyone.

Oh that’s right, I didn’t need to blame. Like everyone else who profited, I happily took credit for my investing brilliance. (And the technology implosion proved I wasn’t very smart after all).

The stock market goes up and down as do individual stocks. The problem today is that we had been spoiled by what many consider the longest run of American prosperity in history. With a few minor setbacks, the market chugged onward and upward and people got used to seeing gains, not losses.

But the physics of the universe didn’t change. Gravity still affects like on planet earth and the stock market as well.

We loved the gains and now we’re angry about the losses.

Silly, isn’t it? To think that somehow we should have been entitled to ongoing gains without any of the natural consequences of a decline?

Am I upset about my losses? You bet. On a bad day I get angry. Nobody likes to lose money, on paper or otherwise. But I’m the one responsible. Nobody made me buy or sell stocks when I did. No evil force prevented me from prudently moving more to cash before the sudden decline.

So here’s an idea that’s worked for me: get angry and then get over it. Do what you need to do to preserve capital and position yourself to make money in the future.

Just don’t waste time looking for somebody to blame.

“A fine is a tax for doing wrong. A tax is a fine for doing well.” Unknown

My latest book, The Encore Effect: How to Achieve Remarkable Performance in Anything You Do provides both a philosophy and specific practices for achieving remarkable–or more remarkable–performance in anything you do, whether at home or work, selling, providing customer service, leading, making a presentation or whatever important performance you choose.

It isn’t a public speaking book. While the principles apply to speaking, that isn’t the focus of the book.

That becomes apparent when you read the book, but at least one reviewer didn’t think it was a very good book about public speaking. It isn’t, because it isn’t just about public speaking.

Principles are transferable. That means that the performance principles I write about can be used wherever they will benefit you. I use a myriad of different examples throughout the book to help drive this point home.

If you’re looking for a book specifically about public speaking, I can suggest some good ones. If on the other hand you’re looking for a way to take your performance “2LU” (two levels up), I believe The Encore Effect will be most helpful.