John W. Gardner was Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare under Lyndon Johnson. He was a great American, advocate for education and wise thinker. Gardner said, “The first task of a leader is to keep hope alive.” His words couldn’t be timelier.

Today the media bombards us with gloom and doom about the economy. To be fair, they might be right. To be equally fair, they might not know much more than anybody else. How much of our economic malaise is caused by people buying into the bad news? Might our economy recover quickly if the fatalists just shut up?

It is possible to report about what is going on without presenting conjecture as conclusion. The smartest economists have opinions about the economy but don’t confuse opinion with fact. The only thing we know with any certainty is what is happening; nobody knows with certainty what will happen.

Our leaders today have the opportunity to tell us what they believe is happening and at the same time uncover reasons to be hopeful. Focusing only on what’s broke requires no insight or skill; presenting possible solutions is both an art and science.

I never advocate happy talk, denial or rationalization. I am, however, completely fed up with rampant negativity masquerading as factual reporting.

We need leaders, as John Garndner advocated, that will help keep hope alive.

One of the great things about my work is I get to meet so many creative and talented people. Over the years I’ve appeared on programs with and gotten to know Mike Rayburn, an amazing guitarist and communicator. Whenever he performs, he always brings down the house and truly is an encore performer. He has a new movie out–only two minutes long–and I know you’ll enjoy watching it. Just click here.

Each year Anchor Steam brews a special beer for the holiday season. Serious beer drinkers look forward to each year’s release. This  year’s ale not only tastes great but comes with a label that conveys a great sentiment to customers:

This is the thirty fourth “Our Special Ale” from the brewers at Anchor. It ia sold only from early November to mid-January. The Ale’s recipe is different every year, but the intent with which we offer it remains the same: joy and celebration of the newness of life. Since ancient times, trees have symbolized the winter when the earth, with its seasons, appears born anew. (A tree is central to the the design of the label.)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Anchor Brewing Co 2008

Can information add value to a product or service? I think Anchor Steam proves that it can.

This morning Nancy Pelosi was on CNN saying that in terms of the U.S. automakers “…it is clear that bankruptcy is not an option.” The same newscast aired a story about a school district asking for a huge bailout. Their reasoning was if Wall Street and the auto makers could get help, why not them?

I have no strong feelings about whether or not to bailout Ford, Chrysler and GM. Two have been clients in the past and I know that each employs many good people. The question of bankruptcy is never about good people; it is about viability.

The problem as I see it is that almost everyone has come to believe that Congress doesn’t think that bankruptcy is an option for anyone. After all, we’ve been interfering with market forces and bailing out entire industries for years. Do you think the deplorable and unprofitable state of the U.S. airline industry might have something to do with market forces being circumvented by our government?

It sounds blasphemous, but companies and industries that cannot operate profitably should be allowed to fail. Otherwise we subsidize unprofitable performance and directly penalize those competitors who have a workable business model.

I don’t have a right to be a speaker or an author or an economist or anything else that I can’t pursue profitably. As a small businessperson I don’t think in terms of subsidies and bailouts; I think in terms of hard work and profitability. If I can’t operate profitably, why wouldn’t a change of careers be the best course of action?

Of course if Congress had to be profitable, they’d be out of business too.

Recently the Wall Street Journal interview Michael Lewis, author of Panic: the Story of Modern Financial Insanity. I believe his concluding comments are very timely and profound:

“We have entered a period of risk aversion unlike anything we’ve seen in our lifetime. Investors will be too wary for a while. You’ll read stories about people who got rich betting against subprime mortgages and then about people who combed through the wreckage and found bargains. The next rich wave will be those who figure out where the value is (emphasis added). As for the average American investor, he’ll be a deer in the headlights for years. It will be a while until greed gets comfortable again.”

“It” still runs downhill.

You know what I’m talking about: the offal of bad experience, the toxic byproducts of life, the waste of goof ups…

It follows gravity and if you’re at the bottom of the hill, you are sometimes in the path.

Some of “it” we create ourselves. We lose our tempers, say foolish things, make bad decisions or act inappropriately.

Sometimes others do those things and send the consequences down the hill towards us.

Like you, I’ve been downhill from somebody else who created the problem. It is never appreciated.

It isn’t always possible to explain why it happens. It isn’t usually fair (unless we’re responsible). And it is never pleasant.

So…what to do?

Keep looking uphill. If you see it coming, move. If you can’t get out of the way, prepare for it. Sounds obvious, but how many times have we noticed it heading our way but stood around too long to avoid or prepare for it?

Always ask yourself, “What is my responsibility, if any, in all of this?” Take ownership for your stuff. You can’t blame it away. This part is hard, by the way. Nobody likes to admit they goofed up. But the only worse is goofing up and denying it.

Take a stand. Don’t throw it back up the hill. Fighting it with it will only lower you to the level of the sender and you end up with it all over yourself. I just got a whackadoodle email from an unpleasant person and the temptation was to email some of the unpleasantness back. I didn’t. It would have only been fuel for the fool’s fire.

But don’t be a pushover either. Maintain your integrity: accept appropriate responsibility but refuse to be someone’s whipping post. Don’t be petty, but bold: explain what happened, why and if necessary call the sender on his or her behavior.

Don’t send it downhill. Be considerate of the folks down the hill from you and do what you can to protect them from all the stuff you hate sloshing over you. Be a levee, not a floodgate.

What one thing this week will you do remarkably well?

The important things we do at work and at home should be done well. The unimportant and necessary should be done well enough. Some things merit a remarkable performance.

My book The Encore Effect: How to Achieve Remarkable Performance in Anything You Do was released in September.

As my publisher and I debated subtitles, one idea was How to Give a Remarkable Performance in Everything You Do. I was opposed for two reasons: not everything requires a remarkable performance and we aren’t capable of being remarkable at everything we do.

A key to remarkable performance is in knowing both what deserves that extra effort and what things you are passionate about that makes you want to be remarkable at doing them.

If the week ahead holds nothing that either doesn’t deserve a remarkable performance and/or you aren’t particularly motivated to at least attempt at doing remarkably…

…then you better replan your week.

Whether your candidate won or lost, your business is up or down or your health good or poor, the following quote  (the last lines of Self-Reliance) are worth considering today:

“A political victory, a rise of rents, the recovery of your sick or the return of your absent friend, or some other favorable event raises your spirits, and you think good days are preparing for you. Do not believe it. Nothing can bring you peace but yourself. Nothing can bring you peace but yourself. Nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of principles.”                                                       Ralph Waldo Emerson

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.