Stop blaming the economy for poor business decisions managerial apathy

We all have heard of the definition of insanity, where you continue to do the very same thing, the very same way and have the audacity to expect a different result but we ignore a key reason that the jobs promised by politicians and their reasons for why they continue to disappear does not match up with the rhetoric.  Well maybe this article that appeared  at WREX dot come can help you better understand why I have discovered that not only is it the true definition of insanity but it is also with the addition of an attack of apathy.

The article is titled “Rockford Old Country Buffet closes” posted by Kristin Crowley yesterday Mar 07, 2016 on wrex.com.  The article reports that “The Old Country Buffet in Rockford is officially closed.  It happened suddenly over the weekend, leaving employees without jobs. Partners Buffet LLC tells 13 WREX the company filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. The company says the Rockford location on Perryville Rd is one of six to close in Illinois”.  Now you have employees who used to have a job to provide for their families suddenly out of work and having to stress about what they will tell their creditors.  Many may scramble to find another one and succeed but what about those who don’t.  How does the decisions of a few play well on the lives of the many who has come to rest all their worthiness upon at least having some income?

We already know the definition of insanity so let’s now look closer at the definition of apathy.  Apathy is defined as lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern and this is exactly what is shown by those holding the purse strings in large corporations such as Partners Buffet LLC.  They are first allowed to purchase competition without being regulated and essentially, like big banks, get too big to fail because they may save their companies and those on the upper echelon of management but those who are the backbone of any industry are left high and dry.  This does not sound like any kind of business or managerial staff that should be in control of anything but it is the route we choose to take because we grow in our lack of concern or interest in anyone except ourselves.

Take for example, how crowded any city is on one particular side.  Business upon business builds in one area and much time seemingly right on top of each other.  Forget about the “territorial rights” of any business as to the proximity of a competitor because distance matters not to a family searching to get the most bang for their buck.  Then figure in newer more improved versions of that business popping up no so far down the street and you got insanity.  Let’s not forget those existing businesses now searching for a way to maintain its customer base so you farm out the managerial aspects to that fresh blood start out of some prestigious business school that have only their professor’s recommendations to rely on.  Each of these “young guns” comes with an already pasted agenda by those who may have once cared about those who put their children through college but have lost it so long ago. Their objective, make those on the upper scale more money and do it as quickly.  The result, while many cities has given you years of savings on paying your part of the city taxes, those savings means nothing compared to those who are now unemployed and looking toward city services to help them survive.

The cities loose out because instead of gathering those taxes and making the city better, they passed to get businesses to locate here.  Now that the free tax ride is over, those business close and place those employed back on the city rolls to pay for.  The businesses loose because instead of locating where they could enjoy longevity and a steady income, they choose to “get rich quick” and locate right on top of others.  Instead of paying their share of city taxes so that they can now really feel a part of the community that they serve, they take the free ride and keep themselves isolated and detached but those who lose the most are often those never considered in this equation, the employees.  Image coming to work with a song in your heart only to see a permanent closed sign on the doors of the job you have come to rely upon.

Poor business decisions to locate on top of each other and managerial apathy, the lack of interest and concern for those most affected by decisions made by managers and owners alike makes for a truly bitter pill, cities and their citizens must now swallow and because it never happens once but over and over again proves the insanity under which we live and do business.  There used to be a time when a business was created to answer a need within the cities.  It used to be created to provide a service that no other business provided or built to keep that city balanced allowing all of its residents the opportunity to sample their wares but now businesses seems to be created by unhappy owners who didn’t like the way things were going and struck out on their own to show them how it should be done.  In case you were wondering, any business struck that is being built for personal reasons and to prove a point instead of being built to service a community of people shall never last yet another exercise in futility we practice and keep repeating because we still haven’t learned.