On other hand, corporations seem to have no alternatives. With squeeze on profits and stockholders and analysts anxiously watching, company leaders feel that they must act quickly or bear wrath of Wall Street. They understand that their response may in fact be a little shortsighted, but investors have short fuses when it comes to waiting patiently for earnings statements to turn around. Is there any alternative?

The answer is both "yes" and "no." In short term, some cuts may be essential, but it is far better to do so by use of a scalpel, rather than an ax. Why? Because your organization's long term future may well be on line and decided by how you respond to present economic downturn. Remember how, just very recently, most business were in a slightly different predicament? That's right. The problem was that we were all fighting over labor pool, especially for experienced, stable, well-balanced employees who were likely to actually come in to work on Monday and Friday mornings.

Prepare yourself, because those days are likely to return with a vengeance later this year or early next. It is unlikely that present economic woes will plague us much longer than a few more quarters. Then watch out! If you thought market for qualified workers was tight before, it is likely to become much more so in near future. Between early retirements resulting from present shakeout, both forced and voluntary, large number of laid-off and terminated workers who have opted for entrepreneurship and shortage of new workers, especially skilled, available to enter workforce in next few years, virtually all employers may be singing employee blues.

Let's get into that one. Because a statement like "Know Yourself" isn't enough. That statement has a very important meaning.

There are many different kind of people. You can see it in little kids. Being a kid. That's where it all starts. There you're formed.

There are kids who are leaders. They tell other kids what to do and other do what they say. No questions asked.

Maybe a kid doesn't do what leader tells him to do. The leader knows what he must do. He acts and he acts in a very through way.

Next time when he tells other kid to do something other kid will do it right away. The other kid knows that there is no way out.

Those are leaders. But then you have followers. Those are kids that do what leader tells them to do.

The followers have no say. Sure. They can tell other kids to do something. But nobody does what he tells them to do.

All a follower can do is follow orders. No matter how good he is. No matter how much he knows. He can only follow orders.

So we've got leaders and we've got followers. But then there's a third category. Those are kids that are always teased.

Everybody teases that kid. It is as if they have a big sign on their head saying "Tease me". These kid are teased or laughed at.

That's for kids. And then kids grow up. Do they change? No. The kids stay same. The personalities of kids do not change.

When kids are grown up you still have leaders, followers, and those that are teased all time. There is no change.

They start working. The leaders become boss in no time. The best followers can do is become second in command. They still report to leader.

And kids that were teased all time. They grow up, they start working, and teasing goes on. Now teasing hurts them in their career.

A leader or a follower always want to show off. They want to show people how tough they are. Acting on people being teased all time is easy.

Now. What kind of person are you? Are you a leader? Are you a follower? Or are you person that's always been teased?

And how does that effect you if you want to start a business? Must you consider your personality for starting a business?