I don’t know about you, but it seems to me that the guys with their hands on the money spigot (Federal Reserve Chairmen) have better information than you and me and therefore, better insight. Remember the words of Alan Greenspan right before the bust: “irrational exuberance.” Well, not too long ago, Ben Bernanke uttered, “These are unusually uncertain times.”
With world events swirling around us, the only thing I think we can all agree upon is uncertainty. Because uncertainty creates a dilemma around decision-making, it often leads to paralysis and no decisions. Other times, it leads us to try many different things, but without conviction or finality. We have a saying for this in our shop: “Don’t confuse motion for progress.”
Even in the face of uncertainty, I think we all agree that we can make progress on one area—giving back and helping those in need. I am honored and humbled on a daily basis to see the generosity and kindness of the Granite team. It’s a win-win because while our folks are helping others, we are working in teams toward a common goal that unifies us and creates real progress.
In our company, we do this in many different ways like donating money, time and leveraging our relationships—just as I’m sure many of your companies do. We also give our folks one day off a month to volunteer for any charitable organization they desire. When Graniteers use their workday to help a cause that is near and dear to them personally, they feel great about themselves, the people they helped, and come back to work inspired and recharged.
So, when the main money man is telling us we are in “unusually uncertain times,” we can all show him (and all the other politicians), we are certain about one thing: helping others is what we call doing well, by doing good. Have a super day.
Michael W. Dardick is president and CEO of Granite Properties Inc., which he founded in 1991. Contact him at [email protected].
