Devoted to Managers and those that seek to improve their management skills

A good article in the Motley Fool talks about fear and investing. Jim Mueller takes a couple of the great investors like Peter Lynch and Warren Buffett, and talks about their mentality as they invested in companies.

Much if it talks about how fears and worries will always be around, and if it isn't one thing, it'll be another.

The reason to bring this up is the current economic climate that is being ferociously reported on by all media outlets. The reason why it's being reported on so strongly is the fear factor. Sex isn't the only thing that sells, fear is right up their with it.

So we'll continue to hear all the subprime mortgage numbers, bankruptcy's and credit problems. The automotive industry in America will continue to struggle, and gas prices remain high.

You could fill in those three troubled spots with other things that have happened over the years, and they would fit in nicely.

The point is we have to learn to pretty much ignore the endless reports that perpetuate fear. It's not that what is being reported is necessarily false (although it is a lot of guesses at this time), but rather it's the fear it generates we have to be careful of.

Nothing is different today that hasn't happened before, and in the future there will be other things to face. That's simply a part of being alive.

Well run companies survive and thrive in all circumstances over a period of time. There are always the expected ups and downs of doing business that will always be part of the landscape. Only the names of the struggles will change, but not the struggle itself.

The best thing to do is not stray off our purpose, have back up capital sources available if needed, and run a lean, tight ship.

Just about every company that thrives over a period of time will have those as part of their way of doing business. All it means is that they are prepared to operate in lean times and in times of strong growth. Either way, they continue running their businesses similar in each of those different landscapes.

Like in the past, those that change the way they do business because it looks like a way to get huge windfalls has landed in their lap, always end up in the place the financial companies today are.

Stay on course and don't allow the macro-circumstances surrounding you influence your business decisions. Those who know who they are as a company don't allow that to happen. In the end, we must know who we are and what we stand for, and not deviate too far off that path. It will keep us on a steady and even keel in the midst of the storms that inevitable will come our way.