Management Diary The Quintessential Survival Guide in the Corporate Quagmire!

Just The Facts


Attitudes are more important than facts.

Dr. Karl Menninger

Attitudes are intangible and highly personal. They're based on your experience, but more importantly, on your interpretation of that experience.  That is, how you understand the "facts" of a given situation. People who interpret the facts of their experience positively tend to be self-confident.
 
Not surprisingly, the best predictor of success is your level of confidence. Confident people tend to initiate action and control their environment--even under difficult conditions. Your degree of self-confidence will determine the kinds of risks you take, the amount of effort you'll expend, and the strength of your perseverance in time of trouble. Your confidence will determine the amount of flexibility you creatively apply in new situations. Your confidence will promote either optimism or pessimism and will dictate the degree to which you are vulnerable to debilitating stress or depression.
 
No one can give you confidence. You must create it yourself. You can start by discovering your strengths in the "facts" of every situation.

George Ebert is the President of Trinity River Seminars and Consulting, a firm specializing in the custom design and delivery of team building, personal growth and ethical development programs. Mr. Ebert is a highly sought after speaker, educator and consultant with over thirty years experience in both the public and private sectors. He has presented widely throughout the Unites States. He is the author of the management cult classic, Climbing From the Fifth Station: A guide to building teams that work!


MORE RESOURCES:

A look at economic developments around the globe (AP)
AP - A look at economic developments and activity in major stock markets around the world Friday:
NY's AG isn't backing down from Wall Street probe (AP)

FILE- In this March 18, 2011 file photo, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman answers a a question during a news conference in his New York City office. Although shrugging off the “sheriff of Wall Street” title, Schneiderman stood firm against major banks when he rejected a settlement over the mortgage collapse a year ago, because it shielded them from future investigations (AP Photo)AP - New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, a lead investigator into the mortgage collapse that wobbled the U.S. economy, hasn't taken the title "Sheriff of Wall Street" that one of his predecessors rode all the way to the governor's mansion.



Summary Box: Commodities fall on Greece debt woes (AP)
AP - GREEK WOES: Commodity prices fell broadly as a plan to fix Greece's crippling debt crisis remained far from settled, renewing concerns about global economic growth.
Most commodity prices fall on Greece debt woes (AP)
AP - Commodity prices fell broadly Friday after a plan to fix Greece's crippling debt crisis suffered a setback, renewing concerns about global economic growth.
Bernanke urges action to heal housing markets (Reuters)
Reuters - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Friday issued a call to action to restore U.S. housing markets, saying depressed house prices and sales are a serious drag on the economic recovery.
Obama call for manufacturing revival a tough goal (AP)
AP - President Barack Obama is making a strong election-year push for an economic revival "built on American manufacturing." But he faces an uphill slog, with little consensus even within his own party on how to do it.
Gov't on pace for $1T deficit despite January dip (AP)
AP - The federal deficit was lower through the first four months of the budget year than the same period last year. Still, the deficit is expected to top $1 trillion for the fourth year in a row, putting more pressure on Congress and President Barack Obama in an election year.
Bernanke: Weak housing has hurt consumer spending (AP)

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke speaks about housing markets in transition at the International Builders' Show organized by the National Association of Homebuilders in Orlando, Florida February 10, 2012. REUTERS/David Manning (UNITED STATES - Tags: BUSINESS POLITICS REAL ESTATE)AP - Ben Bernanke says declines in home prices have forced many Americans to cut back sharply on spending and warns that the trend could continue to weigh on the economy for years.



January budget gap shrinks (Reuters)
Reuters - The monthly budget deficit narrowed to $27.4 billion in January from $49.8 billion in the same month a year earlier, partly because some benefit payments normally made in January were shifted to December, the Treasury Department said on Friday.
Anxiety over incomes hits consumer morale (Reuters)
Reuters - Americans felt worse about their personal finances in early February, but rising confidence in the labor market's prospects should help to support spending and the broader economy.
Romney appeals to U.S. business with harsh China talk (Reuters)
Reuters - Mitt Romney slammed China's "autocratic model" of capitalism in a speech to technology executives on Friday, keeping up attacks on the economic powerhouse days before a visit from a Chinese official expected to be the country's next leader.
Housing a "significant headwind" to recovery: Fed's Pianalto (Reuters)
Reuters - The housing market is holding back the broader economic recovery now that foreclosures have become "a national crisis," a top Federal Reserve official said on Friday.
Exclusive: Future of bank benchmark rate under review (Reuters)
Reuters - A global probe into whether banks colluded to set the interest rates at which they borrow money from each other has thrown into question the future of the benchmark they use to price financial products worth an estimated $360 trillion.
Bernanke urges action to heal U.S. housing markets (Reuters)

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke speaks about housing markets in transition at the International Builders' Show organized by the National Association of Homebuilders in Orlando, Florida February 10, 2012. REUTERS/David Manning (UNITED STATES - Tags: BUSINESS POLITICS REAL ESTATE)Reuters - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Friday issued a call to action to restore U.S. housing markets, saying depressed house prices and sales are a serious drag on the economic recovery.



Spain cuts firing costs in new labor reform (Reuters)
Reuters - Spain cut severance pay for workers on Friday and watered down collective bargaining rights, giving more power to employers as it attempts to kick start its moribund jobs market and slash Europe's highest unemployment rate.
Portugal watches Greek debt drama with foreboding (Reuters)
Reuters - Portugal's economy will shrink as much as Greece's this year, according to IMF projections. The two will have identical current account deficits and the red ink in Portugal's budget will be almost as deep as in Greece's.
Trade deficit widens to $48.8 billion in December (AP)

In this photo of Feb. 4, 2012, a cargo ship, owned by German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd, crosses New York Harbor. The U.S. trade deficit widened in December, reflecting a jump in imports of autos and industrial machinery. For the year, the deficit climbed to the highest level since 2008 as both exports and imports rose to all-time highs.  (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)AP - Monthly U.S. exports to Europe grew in December, a hopeful sign after a steep decline the previous month. But, some economists remain concerned that the region's debt crisis will still weigh on the U.S. economy this year.



U.S. jobless rate projected to fall sharply (Reuters)
Reuters - Economists in a survey see the unemployment rate falling much faster this year than previously expected, an improvement in the jobs market that could help President Obama's re-election chances.
Consumer mood worsens in February on income worries (Reuters)
Reuters - Americans felt worse about their personal finances in early February, even as they saw a light at the end of the tunnel for the jobs market, a survey released on Friday showed.
Instant View: Consumer mood worsens in early February (Reuters)
Reuters - Americans turned less optimistic about the economy in early February on worries about falling income even as their outlook on the jobs market rose to a record high, a survey released on Friday showed.
home | site map |       Disclaimer |       Privacy Policy
© 2006