Has the recession forever tempered your ambition and growth plans?
David Bloch, MD of the Brightwater Group comments:
Last month’s question asked whether the recession had forever tempered your ambition. 48% said Yes, 43% No and 9% were Uncertain. I think those that have felt the acutest fear said ‘yes’ and those that escaped the direct turmoil could still say ‘no’. In other words, it is our natural instinct to be ambitious, but circumstances may change our thinking…, but only temporarily.
Last year, as I spoke to other recruitment company MDs, I was shocked by the pervading sense of doom and ‘it’s all over’ sentiment. Then I went to a recruitment conference in London and talked with the MDs there and the difference in attitude was extraordinary. There was no sense of doom, more there was a sense that ‘sure we’re in recession and it’s going to be painful, but we’ve been in recession before and we’ll come out of it again’. A sense that bust is simply part of the cycle which had seen booms and busts systematically for the last 40 years, ie: Ireland has never been in boom the like of the Celtic Tiger years, and therefore had never faced a bust… hence the panic and fear that ‘it’s all over’. England, France, Germany, America, Australia etc all have a sense of perspective that history brings. Ireland does not.
Fear and panic create a sense of “loss aversion”, which results in focusing more on what we may lose than on what we might gain. Loss aversion is the systemic mistake of evaluating decisions in isolation rather than in the aggregate, and over-weighting losses relative to gains. In the decision-making process, it seems potential losses hurt twice as much as potential gains feel good.
Time heals and time brings a sense of perspective, and I believe that in 24 months (even in 12 months), the ‘No’ answer will more than double the ‘yes’ count. Human beings’ natural instincts to grow, build, develop, compete and achieve will return and Ireland will once again be a country of ambition…, but with an economic history that has brought equanimity.