I make your hiring process simple. Tell me what you want - I'll get it for you.

-  Mya Borgman, Founder and CEO

You can't see it but I've got egg on my face. For the past few years, I've been giving advice on how to go around, rise above, leap-frog over, side-step, tearfully face, gleefully embrace, and generally contend with our ailing economy and its impact on your businesses. I think I've given some pretty good advice along the way, but the only way that I can give you advice related to our ailing economy is to FIRST remind you of how awful things are out there in the land beyond our control

It's true that some things are pretty sucky out there, but by continually bringing it up, aren't I guilty of perpetuating the gloom and doom that I'm also trying to get you to rise above? Isn't it possible that someone reading one of these articles may get so demoralized when being reminded for the umpteenth time of how bad things are, they never get to the part about what he or she can do to make it better?

“News is, first and foremost, entertainment....”

Ad Biz

Many years ago, advertising guru and best-selling author David Ogilvy told his clients that they were NEVER to name a competitive product in their ads, even to show that their products were better than the competition. “Why give your competitors free advertising? Why reinforce their products and brands in the minds of your customers?” Ogilvy sold a lot of stuff for his clients, so I'm guessing he was right.

At The People Link, we are committed to helping you improve things at your company by finding you great personnel to help you grow your business. I can't avoid making some reference to the economy because it's germane. However, there are two things I'm going to do that will help you and me focus more on what's working and less on what isn't.

News Biz 101

There are some things that you should know about the news business that may help put things in perspective the next time you turn on the nightly news or pick up the paper.

News is, first and foremost, entertainment. Like other forms of entertainment—movies, television, records— news is big business that someone pays for, usually through advertising dollars. Some news anchors make more money than God for reporting the actions of others. Rarely, do they actually do anything of real value themselves. Why they get paid such huge sums of money is one of the great mysteries until you realize that they are paid to be trusted sources of information—trusted by you!

And that's very valuable to some folks who make a lot of money because you took action based on what you heard on the news. (Maybe you become afraid or less confident. Maybe you stop spending on promotion—the kiss of death to a business especially in challenging times. Or you fire people in advance of any actual evidence that firing them will solve anything!)

I love the fact that we have access to so much information—largely, these days, through the Internet—but with any wildly popular segment of society one must exercise judgment and know what they're dealing with because there are lots of ways to lie to people while being “perfectly honest.”

Whose Truth Is It Anyway?

I have a friend who used to work in television news. She told me she marvelled at how some information—the gorier, more controversial and sensational information—could get elevated to the lead story, while other relevant and useful information rarely if ever saw the light of day.

It's an old adage that “bad news sells.” But sells what? Fear? Depression? Apathy? Worry? Anxiety? (Please note that none of these are “happy” words.) Yes, bad things happen to good people—that is an undeniable truth—but it is a selective truth among many other truths and therein lies the problem. If you're not provided with the rest of the truth, it's all too easy to believe that there is ONLY one truth —the one you see 24/7 on the news. How good can your decisions be if you're operating on partial information? Or information that relates to other people out there, but not so much you?

If you find yourself feeling that you're helpless to do anything about making things better after watching the news — for yourself, your family, your business—someone has done his or her job really well! Ka-ching!

So while I may make small mention of problems in “the economy” in future issues of this newsletter, it's going to get the attention it really deserves—with small letters and not much column space: the economy. Geez that felt good! But... was it as good for you as it was for me?

So the first of my two helpful suggestions for this article is: Take what you hear or see with a grain of salt. It ain't everything it's cracked up to be!

You're the Man (or Woman)!

So what do we put our attention on? You! YOU!YOU! What YOU are doing that's right! What YOU are doing that's working! Because YOU and your team—and the millions of people like you around the country—are the real reason that anything is working at all. YOU and your team are the backbone of this great country. YOU deserve recognition on the news. And if more people trusted your information— and based their actions on your success and those of people like you—the economy would turn around. I think this is called a no-brainer?

Not sure if you know this, but some folks are really doing well in this economy. And not just off of the misfortunes of others like vultures! (As an avid animal lover, I know that vultures play a very important role in the balance of nature. However I wouldn't want them circling overhead eyeing my kitty cat when I've just lost my home!)

For example, The People Link is doing well, and we're not alone. But without exception, every business owner with whom I've talked has told me that the single biggest difference between them and others who are not doing as well is the fact that they don't take the bad news back to the office! They know that in the end, what happens with and to their business is up to them—the decisions they make and the people with whom they surround themselves—personnel, friends, family.

They may watch the news for “relevant” information, but they don't give free advertising to what they've heard or watched, preferring to give greater importance to their team and what's working.

What happens out there may have some impact on your business, but it's what happens in here that really counts. What you know. What you control. Who you are as a whole person. Your attitude. Your knowledge and skills. And YOUR choices, not those handed to you by people who don't have a clue what it really takes to run a business and make things work despite anything and everything.

Summarizing...

I will do my part in contributing to your success by making sure that any future references to the economy in this newsletter are as specific and relevant to your success as possible. And I will use this forum to bring you examples of what you and others are doing that's working so that you can flourish and prosper in the coming weeks, months and years.

Please let us know what you think of this newsletter, good, bad or otherwise. In the end, the thing that makes us really happy is seeing you win and knowing that we contributed in some way. We're here to help. Let us know how.

Mya Borgman
The People Link

We make hiring effortless and simple. No more wasting time and money on bad hiring practices. Just tell us what you want and we'll get exactly that for you, effortlessly.

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