Stoking the Mojo

By now, most of us have noticed or at least heard news of the onset of a much- anticipated rebound in the economy. Most watershapers I speak with confirm that it’s true (although to widely varying degrees) and that they are indeed experiencing increases in business – both with new contacts and old leads that have come back into play.

I write those words knowing that you may or may not be convinced that this is the real thing. After all, we’ve learned some tough lessons during this recession, not the least of which is to be wary when pundits offer predictions that they seem perfectly willing to adjust from week to week.

At present, however, most of these economic gurus are suggesting that we are finally reaching a point where we can say that things really are improving – although they often caution that progress will be incremental and not nearly as swift as most of us would prefer.

To my mind, that’s fine. As I see it, the superheated economy we experienced into the fall of 2008 was not based on real growth or wealth, but was instead heaped on the flimsiest footing of speculation. Yes, it felt great at the time, and I suppose it was only natural to assume that the gravy train would keep on rolling despite the fact that everything in our rational minds should have told us there was trouble ahead.

MIXED MESSAGES

What has happened is that we’ve gone from a time when we were told to spend at will (even if it meant buying real estate without sufficient down payments, a worthy credit history or even proof of employment) to a world in which, almost overnight, an enforced frugality became the new paradigm.

For a long while, weathering this storm was Job One in our businesses. Indeed, most of us have spent the past two or even three years talking about making the most of tough times by sharpening our skills, rethinking business models and looking inward at our personal value systems.

All of that turned out to be good advice. As we’ve seen, there have been winners and there have been losers in these hard circumstances, and with few exceptions, the ones who’ve made it were those who actively assessed and adjusted their approaches and left behind former colleagues who simply sat back and waited for things to improve.

For those of us who are still standing – which includes more than a few of us, thank goodness – it’s abundantly clear that we are still not out of the woods. Nonetheless, we know that demand for our products has not gone away and that many people have simply postponed buying without ever losing their basic desire for watershapes of some kind.

On top of that – and I see increasing evidence of this everywhere I go – we’ve reached a point where people are simply tired of being frugal and are starting once again to seek the things they want. As a society, we haven’t ever been good at deferring gratification, and those who have the wherewithal to invest in their homes are starting to behave with less of the caution that has dominated the past few years.

Yes, we offer things that are highly discretionary and for the most part non-essential, but products in our categories are also among the most attractive and appealing in the marketplace. People love water, love recreation, love luxury, love art, love togetherness, love fun and love health – and we offer it all.

The Great Depression of the 1930s did not kill the market for luxury automobiles, nor has this Great Recession dimmed the desire for pools, spas and other watershapes. The reason is simple: Consumers want what they want. If anything, the absence that comes in lean times only makes the heart grow fonder with respect to objects associated with luxury and self-indulgence.

MOOD SWINGS?

For all of you out there who are tired of listening to the prognosticators and pundits and haven’t yet seen enough evidence to convince yourself that the tide is turning, I urge you to add the psychology of our current situation to your thought processes.

With something as massive and serious as the global economy, we tend to step back, check out and leave the ebbs and flows to the world’s statisticians and analysts (and to governments and truly big businesses) to make decisions based on cold logic, careful risk assessment and detailed market analysis.

Again, if the past few years have taught us anything, it’s that our institutions and the people that manage them are just as subject to the whims of mood as we are. Take a look at the stock market: It may be oversimplifying to say so, but the up-and-down swings we see are based entirely on perceptions about what’s coming next.

When you boil it all down, I don’t think anyone will vigorously counter the point that most people spend when they feel good about the future – and close up like clams when they see dark clouds ahead. By extension, I’ve come to believe that the economic swings we’ve been witnessing result in large part from the mood swings of human beings who make the buying and selling decisions at the highest levels of the economy.

This leads eventually to a chicken-or-the-egg conundrum: Does mood drive economic performance? Or does economic performance drive mood? I believe the answer to both those questions is “yes,” which is exactly why, when things start to roll one way or the other, they tend to pick up speed in a hurry.

With the onset of our current recession in 2008, markets lost value and sent the entire financial world into a defensive tailspin that drew everyone and everything into a downward spiral. Not long before (when times were still good), we’d assumed things would be great forever and slid into a different sort of tailspin, with homeowners, banks, securities companies and the government all spending like drunken sailors.

Just as we thought the good times would never end, there are those among us now who think the dark times will never again lighten. Mood, be it bright or dark, is the nebulous X-factor in all of these equations.

SNAP OUT OF IT!

With all of that as a backdrop, we reach the main point of this column: Given that things seem to be improving at long last and knowing that mood is extremely important, I believe it’s time for all of us to wake up, stand tall and reclaim our swagger with force and determination.

Frankly, I’m tired of listening to people go on and on about the pitiable state of their businesses or their lives in general. It’s not that I’m unsympathetic or that what’s been going on hasn’t affected me and people I know and respect, but it’s time to move along and start talking instead about what we’re doing about our predicaments, whatever they may be. It’s time, in other words, to put on our game faces and get to it!

Look at it this way: If you’re in a hole, bemoaning your fate isn’t going to make your situation any better. Indeed, the only shot you have rests in your ability to get active and try something new or different. Explore new marketing and sales approaches; reach out to colleagues in your own and related fields to establish connections that might lead to future business; change the focus of your business; maybe rename your company. Heck, go out and get a haircut, set your alarm an hour earlier, lose weight or quit smoking.

Whatever you do, practice ways to avoid indulging in negativity.

I realize it’s cliché these days, but it certainly applies here: If insanity is doing the same thing over again and hoping for different results, then you should become maniacal about identifying and implementing change.

Yes, some of what’s happening is beyond anyone’s control, but do you really want your fate to be determined by those factors? I certainly don’t, and I know in my case that the times in my life when I’ve felt most desperate are the times I’ve gotten busy and tried new ideas, sought new approaches and challenged my own thought processes. Often, this has meant stepping way beyond my comfort zone, but I’ve found that putting fear aside and taking chances is the best way to go.

And by the way, when we talk about taking chances: Is there any greater risk than the one that comes with doing nothing?

Anybody can talk himself or herself out of acting in bold ways, and there will always be very good reasons you can muster to persuade yourself you can’t afford to take chances. That’s understandable, because taking risks is disquieting. By the same token, however, there’s something beautifully empowering when you make bold moves and don’t fall down or (even better) find yourself being rewarded. And I’m certain that failure from complacency is even less comfortable than taking risks!

The point is, you’ll never know until you try. So why not make that exploratory phone call to a potential partner or investor, pick up that book about business strategy you’ve always meant to read, or screw up the courage to ask your employees about their ideas? It can’t hurt – and it might help!

LIGHT YOUR FIRE

What I’m talking about here is nothing less than the way you greet the world, the energy you bring to the process of moving from one place or conversation to the next. We all know that one of the most attractive of human traits is confidence – a quality that most definitely radiates from within.

The way we present ourselves is, in effect, a matter of self-fulfilling prophecy. If you present yourself as being desperate or beset by fear, then you’re destined to obtain unsettling and negative results. If you act instead on a basis of confidence and optimism, you will exponentially increase your chances for positive results. This confidence keeps you going: Instead of being daunted by setbacks, your attitude lets you learn from experience and move on.

One of my favorites among all the seminars I teach is on the subject of Chi or Ki, an ancient Chinese concept that deals with energy flow and the life force of all living things and how it can be channeled in beneficial ways.

I bring it down to earth by explaining that the concept’s underpinnings are all about human nature and the fact that we are self-determining entities who can foster positive energy or go in the other direction. This basic concept is present in all sorts of eastern philosophies as well as contemporary western psychology, but it all boils down to the same thing: We decide for ourselves what energies and attitudes we bring to the processes of living.

As I see it, many of those who’ve been driven down by the recession have had their inner fires doused: They’ve been robbed of their Ki and need to find ways to reclaim and rekindle it – and I would say they should do it now, before it’s too late.

If things aren’t going well, so be it: Nothing stays the same way forever, so why not prepare yourself and get ready to catch the next wave? We know it’s coming, and we all know that luck smiles on those who happen to be the best prepared.

So let’s quit talking about our woeful situations and attack the future with everything we have. Light that fire in your belly, don’t shy away from optimism, don’t be afraid to take chances – and don’t be afraid to tell your fears about the global economy to take a permanent hike as you take stock of your personal one.

In other words, it’s time to reclaim your mojo and get busy inventing the future!

Brian Van Bower runs Aquatic Consultants, a design firm based in Miami, Fla., and is a co-founder of the Genesis 3 Design Group; dedicated to top-of-the-line performance in aquatic design and construction, this organization conducts schools for like-minded pool designers and builders. He can be reached at [email protected].