The recent collapse of Wall Street is the first financial crises in our Gen X/Y lifetime where every sector in every city in every country will be affected.

Alas, although I am worried about our economy; I am more worried about the impact to the American culture. People’s response to this recession has caused me more fright and doubt than the recession itself. Successful people, who had once implicitly had faith in the market and in the people around them, speak like traitors of Capitalism. Confidence must be restored. The economy’s bad Public Relations efforts or lack thereof are going to make it worse. I know first hand having spent the past 15 years as an image consultant for global companies, products and celebrities. Morale is the key to productivity. We must not roll-over and die because we are in trouble. And we ARE in trouble.

Our capitalist economy is as much about believing as it is about doing. Can you expect me to believe that Robert Moses and David Rockefeller did not have faith in our system when they built bridges and towers despite the turmoil in the market? The current mood reveals a superficiality and weakness of once respected peers and kind strangers. The economy has brought out their boogeymen and they are on the brink of ruining my mood. They were the ones who had the courtesy and awareness of opening and holding a door, saying excuse me when they coughed, holding an elevator or waiting for me to get into the cab before they continued on their way. They have all lost their grace. Money beat them over with a hammer. A few examples follow:

I recently asked a peer for an introduction to a potential client. His preamble went something like this: “I hope all is well. The economy here is quite bad, and the general mood is not good. I spoke with (name withheld to protect the guilty) in Iceland, and things are extremely bad there. He worked for one of the banks that went out of business. Hopefully things are better in Continental Europe….”

Around the same time, a long-time employee began padding her expenses, among other things telling our bookkeeper that I was now paying for everyone’s car service after 7:30p. Or how the coat check girl at a tony uptown restaurant came to our table three times at the end of our meal to remind us that we had to give her a tip too.

I was in total shock, to say the least, at each of these instances.

I thought people understood money. I thought we were all believers of the political economist Adam Smith, even if many didn’t know who he was directly. I was wrong. We will all need to commit to proselytizing the most important part of a healthy economy: Faith. We all need to do a better job at being the economic cheerleaders of our time: Go World Go!

You see, when I am involved in rebranding a valuable product or person, we have to hone in on the combination of history, relevance and value of the person or product. We need to synthesize the legacy around what the brand has delivered to our culture and what it can stand for in the future and craft optimism and loyalty. Take Macy’s, JP Morgan Chase or even Britney Spears for that matter. Are we going to abandon Britney and the truth around her true talent just because she shaved her head and doesn’t wear underwear? Just like many brands ups and downs, so, our economy too has its ups and downs.

And oops, it did it again.

Remember, capitalism is not about putting the dollar on a pedestal, it is about putting our intelligence and resources on a pedestal. Pat yourself on the back and then your neighbor and then your colleagues and do your job. And if you don’t have a job for some unfortunate reason or another, go and have a beer with your neighbor and do something good for the community for someone who’s in worse off shape than you.

From now until after the inauguration we will need to ramp up our moods. Get in the habit of having faith. And if the economy has robbed you of your faith, and if the election of an Black president has not given you hope, then I suggest you check your pulse or expatriate.

Go World Go.

About the author:

Alona Elkayam
Founder and Chief Creative Officer
321 Takeoff®
Far From Timid™

As Chief Creative Officer of 321 Takeoff, Alona sets the tone for the creative approach and the award-winning brand strategy work that 321 delivers. She draws from her diverse background and illustrious career as inspiration, converting client strategies into strong corporate identities that serve as the foundation for distinctive and consistent communications.

Her ability to convert strategic thinking into strong creative solutions and her relentless attention to detail has put her in demand by companies such as LexisNexis, Sony, The Pod Hotel, Pringles, Lawyers.com, iCrossing, and Datran Media to name a few.

Over the course of her career, Alona has worked at some of the industry’s premier advertising, design and branding firms such as Citigate Albert Frank, Saatchi & Saatchi, Ogilvy & Mather, Razorfish and Grey, where she worked on significant global brand strategy assignments and major product launches for companies such as BusinessWeek, Levitra®, BotoxCosmetic®, UBS, CoverGirl, ING, MSNBC.com and Pfizer.

During her career, Alona has been recognized by some of the world’s most prestigious design organizations. She has received a Clio award as well as recognition for her work and contributions to the world of branding from Women in Advertising, Society of Illustrators, Museum of Modern Art and American Institute of Graphic Arts, among others.

Additionally, Alona is the founder of Far From Timid — a surface design company that transforms original works of art into powerful surface patterns for use in home and fashion. The collections Alona has designed are sold worldwide.

Alona is also a devoted student of kung fu, an accomplished painter and is fluent in Hebrew and French. She received her BA from American University and continued her education at School of Visual Arts.

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