Crisis and opportunity

By most parameters, we are bang in the middle of tough times. Bombs explode at will in our metro cities and kill and maim innocents every few months. Fear stalks every move, even an innocent stroll in a busy market. Two of the top 4 investment banks in the US (and most B School students' employers of choice) are history overnight. A lot of friends / colleagues / batchmates are out of jobs and the outlook looks bleak for a lot more. Cassandras are calling it the beginning of another worldwide great depression.

One cliche I have always heard is that the Chinese symbol for crisis is made of 2 parts - one signifying danger and the other opportunity. While current times do seem like they are loaded with danger, it seems very difficult to find the opportunity anywhere.
To find and exploit opportunities needs character. Where will we find character?

We cannot look for it in the government in India, which has tried to stem the scourge of terrorism but has not been very successful. We certainly cannot look for it in the home minister, who keeps parroting inane homilies every time there are lives taken. We cannot look for character in the shenanigans of the US Treasury or 'Helicopter' Ben Bernanke, who have tried to bail out falling giants, but are finding the going very tough.

That leaves us. All of us, Indian or otherwise, citizen or police, consumer or producer, have to show character and last out these tough times. Because, like all things natural, times will change, and the situation will improve. It is a question of riding the storm out.