I hope the Celtic Tiger hasn’t Eaten All of Our Saints and Scholars
“THE ECONOMY will shrink by 8.3 per cent this year and contract by a further 3 per cent in 2010, when unemployment will peak at “15 per cent plus”, according to the latest projections from the Central Bank”
(click Times logo for story)
Reading this headline, you could be forgiven for thinking what next?
But maybe you shouldn’t. Perhaps the greatest damage that has being done is not to our economy, but to our thinking.
Ireland was, is and will continue to be an open economy. For a while, we allowed a situation to develop where this reality was turned on its head, and now allied with a world recession; we find ourselves up the s#@ter without a paddle.
For our collective troubles, we made sure to leave ourselves with a uniquely Irish mess.
- A spectacular banking crisis
- A bloated and inefficient public sector
- A tremendous high cost base.
Now wait for it, we find that our recovery is tied right back to where we started. In our ability to become a successful open economy once again - TRUE: Yes, EASY: No.
High cost base + open economy = competitive?
1+1 = 3
OK, so we won’t need a rocket scientist then, thank God. So while our problems might be big, they also pretty darn obvious. Now here is where the simplicity of my argument ends.
Unique problems call for creative solutions, right?
Seeing as we allowed such a downrightly stupid situation to evolve, what does this say about our recent track record with being creative?
Frankly, it sucks.
Decisions, Decisions, Decisions
I hear a lot of talk about making hard decisions; but shouldn’t these hard decisions have being part of last year’s news?
Isn’t a hard decision where one is required to make a great choice? Isn’t one that requires foresight rather hindsight? Isn’t one when others struggle with the logic? Isn’t a hard decision one, where grasping the need for such an action is not easily understood?
Surely, hard decisions are made in times when they are difficult to sell rather than by the seat of one’s pance.
Someone please tell me, has HARD become the new OBVIOUS?
Anyway what are required now are not hard decisions, because that ship has sailed, Right?
Here’s a thought, maybe what we really need now is GREAT decisions. Now is surely the time when we most need to employ our creativity, our imagination, and our flair.
So how come then, that it seems to be taking us so long to cop on? How come our preoccupation is with hard rather than great decisions? Might the final legacy of the boom be in how it has dulled our decision making and our creativity?
Let’s look at some of the evidence.
Historically speaking, Celtic Tiger Ireland was a time when making decisions in Ireland was perceived to be at their easiest. Will I buy this car or that car? Will we spend money on this road or that building? Of course we now know that it was a time when a great many of our decisions were at their very worst.
So then, let me ask you again, has the Celtic Tiger really gone? Or perhaps could it still remain, buried deep within our collective psyche? Does it continue to eat away at our creativity, our imagination, our ingenuity and our ability to be innovative around the decisions we now face.
So has the Celtic Tiger really gone, and even if it has, please say it hasn’t eaten all our saints and scholars.
Tags: Ireland's economy, Irish ecomomy, irish goverment, irish recession, Irish Times, post boom Ireland, post celtic tiger
July 17th, 2009 at 11:46 am
Hi Niall,
Like the blog. I like to think that the Irish are at their best when suffering or suppressed. That’s when we start to fight hardest. That’s when we release the good in our natures, our natural generosity, our volunteerism, our giving and our creativity. But I think there’s a new element in our psyche now and that is fear.
We were never afraid before - we had nothing to lose. Now we’ve tasted the ‘good life’ we’re afraid that we won’t get it back. Fear can crush us and it can only be resolved by clarity and action. Great decisons give us clear steps to take. Great leaders share a vision with us and hold us to our course until the journey is over.
Such decision making and leadership will come down to grass roots business and entrepreneurs and PAYE workers. Change at a micro level. Small changes - big results.
Cheers,
Seán
July 17th, 2009 at 11:48 am
The old ways of doing business are perhaps gone forever. They don’t work anymore and folk who persist with old ways of Thinking, usually on the competitive plane, need to wake up. The way forward in business is to use our creative faculties to the best of our ability. Businessmen and women need to stick their necks out and Joint Venture with like-minded people, get creative and most of all, work together. It is then we will redeem the silenced Celtic Tiger. Then a new age of saints & scholars will emerge!
David Walsh
July 17th, 2009 at 11:55 am
Sorry about the delay in publishing your comments gents ( I had a fight with wordpress this morning)
Sean, as always, great insight. You are right we need leadership from the bottom up as well as from the top down. Fear is underrated as a factor and misunderstood as to its effects. In my opinion, how we combat it should be receiving more airtime.
David, I really like your way of thinking and I am in violent agreement. Collaboration is the new competition, we are in this together and it is only in pulling together that we will work it out.
Guys, Thanks so much for your great insights. Really excellent. Regards, Niall
July 17th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
Hi. Agree on all points. The challenge will be for those who have never experienced the “tough times” i.e. those who started their working lives in the last 5 years and who can have no concept of what the word recession actually means. This is the fault of the society in which they were brought up - frugality, care and the understanding that money has to be worked for were all lessons forgotten (for the most part).
Those of us who were around in the 80’s/early 90’s understand that hard work and thinking creatively were what helped us to gain/retain employment and to be in a position to thrive when things improved. People accepted the fact that we were in trouble then and tried to think of innovative ways to get themselves out of it. Now should be no different and those who lived through it before have a responsibility to engender a positive and forward looking attitude in all who are going to be responsible for growing our country in the future.
David - joint venture is absolutely the new business order. As a collective group in any field(s), the bang for buck is far and above over that which can be provided by the individual. Companies need to look/work with others who can provide promotion and synergy for their own organisation and not be overly protective of themselves. Open communication and sharing of concepts/ideas will help us out of the current situation and to develop real success.
July 18th, 2009 at 11:40 am
Great blog post and comments. I especially like and agree with the comments re Celtic Tiger eating away at our creativity and that Fear is paralysing us, as Sean said, we never had anything to lose before. Whether the opposition would be any better in power is debatable but I feel we need new leaders, if only to give hope and inspiration. Unfortunately, I think it is down to the people to inspire each other but with various groups starting up, eg. on Linked in and using new social media, anything is possible.
We seem to be stuck in a self-fulfilling prophecy that ‘it is going to get worse before it gets better’ and then of course, that’s what’s happening - need to change our thinking.
July 18th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
Hi, we have a secret weapon, which is “no alternative” other than to build on the suggestions outlined the the foregoing comments.
July 21st, 2009 at 11:35 am
Barney, I think you make a very valuable insight when you talk about “who lived through it before have a responsibility to engender a positive and forward looking attitude in all who are going to be responsible for growing our country in the future”. This point is often missed and in my opinion, you identify a very important requirement of what our new leaders should look like.
Lorna, thanks for your insight. Will new leaders equal new ideas? that is the big question. “We need to change our thinking” You are sooooo right, it’s not funny. The route to there is to start thinking. Thinking in this country is entirely undervalued, very few feel it’s a worthwhile exercise.
Sean, you are right, it some respects, “no alternative” might be our saving grace.
It’s a mad world
Niall