Animal Spirits, the Economy, Attitudes and Business Opportunities

A few days ago--in the last decade--I wrote a post looking at animal spirits and the influence of human psychology on the economy.  (I am now on chapter 11 of the book and it is worthwhile to read and/or listen to.)

Five of these animal spirits are confidence,  a sense of fairness, corruption, money illusion, and stories.  As we now enter the new year and the new decade, we can look for a change in how businesses look at the world.  Confidence was shaken in 2008 and in 2009. 

Many businesses can be poised to take on new business opportunities if they develop a willingness to trust and can find trusted advisers to assist them in exploring the opportunities for change.

Those of us who are in business to provide coaching and consulting services to other businesses are now challenged by the evolving animal spirits of the new economy.  What, for example, are the right fees to charge for professional services?  If we charge what we used to charge, many businesses who could use the services will not think they can afford them.  If we reduce our fees to help businesses experiencing a lower profit-margin, will they realize that these are not our standard fees and, instead, are value-added fees to assist them to grow their businesses and to take advantages of new opportunities?

Attitudes in both business and schools are often resistant to outside coaching and consulting.  Our fee structures are not the same as those many decision-makers are used to.  Some schools develop relationships with local universities or community colleges and work with their faculty and graduate students.  Businesses may have a few trusted advisers they know from their circles of business contacts.

While social networking groups such as LinkedIn may offer opportunities for new connections, referrals and personal networking seems to be the most trusted source for new insights. 

We are still evolving into this second decade of the new millennium.  The concept of animal spirits is important in terms of being aware of the influences of human psychology on business and the economy and in helping professionals working in this economy to have insight into business direction and new business opportunities.

Untentional Intolerance--Influence of Life Experience on Unintended Behavior

"Several years ago, Steve L. Robbins, PhD, coined the term 'unintentional intolerance' to define biases of which people are unaware," (JAVMA News, October 1, 2008).  Many researchers have documented various components of life experience which serves as the filter by which we find value in our experience--both tacitly (unconsciously) and with conscious awareness.

In my 1992 dissertation, I explored the components of life experience (see slide 3, then slide 2) and showed how these components of life experience are a factor in how we reflect on our experience and add to our integrated life experience.

While research such as that completed for this dissertation show how these often tacitly held beliefs influence our behavior, that does not mean that we remain aware of these influences in the moment of our action.

How often do we allow unintentional intolerance to influence our speech and behavior?  We often act in the same way a personal computer or Macintosh computer allows us to have operations working in the background of our awareness while we focus our attention on something in the foreground.

Using Technology to Influence--A Matter of Timing

Hollywood movies and movie stars had a positive influence on military recruiting efforts at the beginning of World War II.  They were also involved in supporting the troops in the wars and "police actions" following World War II. 

With the advent of the Internet, YouTube and TeacherTube, among other sites, are hosts for a series of video shorts promoting all kinds of things.

Today, Techsmith.com has three great products that I use--SnagIt, Camtasia, and Jing.  I am learning to use these products to produce my own promotional videos. 

I am now looking at using this technology to introduce new ideas to potential clients and to others so that they can quickly capture the vision of what I am trying to tell them.  I'm still learning how to be effective.  Examples such as Jimmy Stewart's promotional video can give me a good example of what a great video looks like--even with technology from 1942.