Who would have ever believed just six months ago that Lehman Brothers and AIG (one of the largest insurance companies in the world) would fail.

Yesterday, September 15, 2008 the headline on Yahoo’s homepage blared "Wall Street meltdown" .

Think about how powerful this headline is.  You’re almost forced to click through and see what the hell is going on.

Here’s the 10 second scoop:

AIG is forced into restructuring, Lehman files bankruptcy, and Merrill Lynch is bought out in a last-second deal.

Of course probably the very biggest fallout from these headlines is what it does to investor confidence.

The stock market, like your prospects, is all run by emotion .  Decisions are made based on emotion and then justified later based on logical rationalizations.

So what does it say when three of the biggest financial institutions, $50 billion plus institutions basically go under?

It definitely shakes confidence and could further hurt the receding economy and increasing inflation we’re experiencing here in America.

It means you’re going to have to get slimmer, meaner, and keep a closer eye on your ROI.

The strong businesses will survive and even thrive in this new environment but it is going to take more skills from you and your team

So look for the uncovered opportunities this news brings and no there is always money out there and some of it wants to come to you in exchange for your products and service.

This may seem a bit off topic since it’s not strictly about how to improve your own business but sometimes you got to keep up with the macro economic ‘goings on’ in order to maximize the microeconomics of your business.

So take a look inside your business, see where you can be more efficient, save money by trimming the fat so to speak, and ultimately increase your ROI so your business survives this economic crisis.