Thanks for the downgrade! A banner after vSA's own heart.

Damn the torpedoes. As president of a firm that follows the markets as well as economic and political news with a level of interest bordering on the obsessive, I recognize the downside of short-term thinking.

For example. Today: “The markets are sinking again! Egad! What does this mean for business conditions? Should I edit vSA’s 2012 budget planning?”

Uh, not so fast. In fact, with threatened double dips (sorry, these are recessions, not ice cream servings) coming as frequently as thunderstorms in summer, vSA has undertaken an ever more aggressive approach to business development and growth. Perhaps some of what is working for vSA can be of benefit to other managers and entrepreneurs – so here’s the executive summary.

vSA premises:

•In even the shakiest economy, some companies continue to forge ahead. These must be our clients. This means two things: vSA must be sufficiently effective that its clients see increased success based on our partnership. And vSA must select clients with the attitude and aptitude for success.

•Businesses must spend money to make money. Period. However, businesses need not waste money. vSA runs a tight ship but does not hesitate to invest in tools for growth. We look for the same mentality in our clients.

•There are an array of “sweet spots” with which any company worth running can make a major difference for its clients. Play to those. Here are just a couple of vSA examples as you consider your own sweet spots.  vSA can be a tremendous boon marketing for B2B companies who sell to specifiers, building management, engineers, contractors, designers, and/or architects. vSA knows Gen Y – especially when it comes to its preferences and aversions in banking and finance.

•A positive let’s-win-today-and-every-day attitude toward business, sales and marketing is the only approach that makes sense. Economic shock waves are not going away anytime soon.

The infamous Bernie Madoff. So much has been said and written about him since the tale of his bilking both private and institutional investors hit the scene that I nearly didn’t write this entry. But isn’t it worth saying that Madoff can – inadvertently of course – teach us something?

-The appealing culture of “my word is my bond” can be a trap. We like to believe that we can, through intuition and experience, determine that someone is good, honest, skilled, and trustworthy. Even today we often make deals on a handshake. The list of institutions, organizations and wealthy individuals that dealt with Madoff is troubling in part because each and every one of them wrongly depended on either their own judgment or someone else’s, then entrusted Madoff with their money. It’s hard to imagine completely abandoning our own intuition, but in the words that Ronald Reagan made immortal, “Trust, but verify.” And certainly don’t outsource the job. Don’t trust a stranger to trust a stranger. Ever.

-And the Securities and Exchange Commission?? That’s even worse because the SEC supposedly knows and cares about what it’s regulating. Right? But the SEC gave Madoff a pass after a recent investigation of his operation. The jury (and there should be one, eh?) is still out on this, but the word negligence is too mild, and the word criminal may be just a starting point. Just saying. Sadly, here it is again: we can’t trust strangers to take care of us, and apparently that includes the SEC.

-Little-known and poorly understood financial constructs (like Madoff’s hedge fund) are dangerous investments, even if you’re Steven Spielberg or an international bank. Abstruse mechanisms are sometimes that way for a reason. It’s easy to get stupid in the search for way-better-than-average results, whether in love, finance, beauty, sex, or other matters close to the human heart.

-There must be other Madoffs out there. I hope I’m way off base on this, but suspect we’ll uncover other investment frauds during the next challenging couple of years.