Why Traditional Recession Tactics Are Doomed To Fail this Time - Umair Haque

Word count:<p><pre><code> must 11 could 2 perhaps/maybe 0 fail 1 </code></pre> Doesn't it sound a bit too know-it-all? I would like to believe it because the idea looks good but the essay lacks evidence and observation. In particular, it seems to expect a very rational response from society as a whole. A very risky bet.

Whenever I read Umair's work I find myself agreeing with many of his ideals (sustainable, local business, etc.). But the way he presents them as the necessary solution for today's business woes feels a little force-fed.<p>Let's see some data, some real research.

His bottom line is that to succeed through bubbles like these you have to create real value for people. A lot of companies and investments are too much like get-rich schemes. A long term focus yields a product that truly helps society, and the company will grow along with the society it is helping.<p>I also think that the point is well taken that it can not be on the backs of other countries. The more people in the world with disposable income, the more people there are to sell to. When so much of the world is in near poverty and has 0 disposable income, the entire consumer focus of so many of our companies seems a bit silly.

Umair is always thought provoking, and usually just a bit too far out there for me:<p>"Tomorrow's sources of advantage aren't like yesterday's. They're not built on being able to exploit, dominate, or coerce more strongly than others -- they don't result from being harder, better, faster, stronger. They're about exactly the opposite: being softer, better able to fail, having the ability to be slower, gaining the capacity for tolerance and difference."

Umair takes time to understand, but it's worth it: he's not giving answers but asking questions. It's up to all of us to figure out the answers for our own situations with a broader, questioning mind.

come on, don't take it for "all or nothing/black and white thinking". Grab the overall view of it - that we have to think different to weather this storm and have confidence that we can.