Fortune that lies hidden in ‘crisis’
This week, I have been forced yet again to go back to what William Shakespeare, the celebrated writer, wrote in Coriolanus years back.
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In a typical Shakespearean language he wrote; “when the sea was calm all boats alike/ Show’d mastership in floating.”
Typically, this expression is only to prove that it is only those with the right determination and stamina to brace all odds who succeeds. Therefore, since the seas are not always calm, we will always have people who will become pessimistic about every situation.
In other words, true heroes emerge not from perfect conditions but from conditions deemed so treacherous to many; while many run away, true heroes persevere.
Now, the reasons behind my revisit to Shakespeare’s quote are as follows:
First, experienced business consultant, Dr Ishmael Yamson, in an interview with a local radio station on May 27 stressed emphatically that whereas many saw the current economic malaise of the country as grave, to the extent that the country had been described as a “failed state”, he saw that "the greatest time to make money is in difficult times".
In fact, he also admonished Ghanaians to see the moment as a good time to make money, saying that there was no need for Ghanaians to “be overwhelmed by the difficulties".
The second reason has to do with statements attributed to Prof. Kwesi Botchwey, a former Minister of Finance and Economic Planning. According to Professor Botchwey, whose long period as the Minister in charge of the country’s money has today made him the country’s longest-serving in that portfolio, there is no need for people to press the panic button over the performance of the economy.
“Every economy has its ups and downs. Some of the problems have external causes and some are internal,” he is reported to have said, adding also that “We are not going through a fatal crisis, although there are echoes of that, but it is our responsibility to step back to ensure that we deal with the issues one after the other.”
Well, for me, those two celebrated business minds were similarly expressing the views of Shakespeare and also the views of other great leaders who emerged strong after going through what others had seen as crisis; they saw such situations to be also harbouring fortunes.
Read the following words from Winston Churchill to understand further those in the know-believe that despite the perceived economic difficulties facing the country, there are still opportunities for growth.
“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty,” Churchill said as he tried frantically to rally Britain to action in very depressing times.
In fact, those who have succeeded in sowing the seed of complete despair about the Ghanaian economy have also indirectly succeeded in killing people’s hopes and aspirations. After all, what you see reflects in the actions that you ultimately take. Impressions are, therefore, very important.
Remember also the expression of John F. Kennedy in 1959 which was also used to reinvigorate a dying American spirit at the time; “when written in Chinese, the word crisis is composed of two characters; one represents danger and the other represents opportunity”
Yes, we must feel the fear but we must also take action anyway, as, indeed, standing still is surely the fastest way of moving backwards!
You shouldn’t be daunted by the financial challenges of our time. Doing your best at all times is the best way forward, even when you find the economic situation unfavourable.
Many of the successful companies that you find today were all built in periods of economic downturn: Microsoft, Apple, Disney, CNN, Fortune magazine, GE, Hewlett Packard and many more. That is why Dr Yamson sees the opportunities in today’s economic “crisis”.
Professor Botchwey says: “Let’s not be cynical; let’s have hope; we all have a responsibility…..”
That responsibility is about how many of the positives we would want to accentuate and how many of the negatives we would like to address without throwing our hands in the air in despair.
There are measures to cushion the economy and as l always say, do not be daunted by the current economic malaise; it may well mean that it is where your treasure is hidden!
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Yes, we cannot easily sweep away the fact that all is not well in our economy. That is very true. But again, it is never the case that there will never be problems for us to solve.
Generally, the observed behaviour is that chaos causes people to retreat, but the other truth is that it is not so all of the time.
Those who are able to identify opportunities and are also able to explore them always stay ahead of the game. The choice really is yours!