What is at stake in the current financial "tsunami" that seems to be an amorphous attack on the very heart of capitalism, is many people's livelihoods, their retirement savings, or worse, their jobs. 

This is non-trivial stuff.  The number of foreclosures and delinquencies, as of Sept 2008, continues to be on the increase.   2.75 and 6.41%, respectively, for a total of 9.16% -- or nearly 1 in 10 of the outstanding loans -- are in a default status.  When compared to one year ago housing prices and transaction count are down, albeit less slowly in many areas of the country than the 27 states currently in recession.  

And, every time I look at my previously growing nest egg, I realize foxes must have been left in charge of the chicken coop!  That great big sucking sound I'm hearing is the Federal Gov't needing so much cash that they are drying up the available investment capital.  This is causing my teenie stash of equity "assets" to have shrunk 75% in value in the last year!   It's a good thing I'm not talking real money or this could be very depressing! 

I thought I was saving for a downpayment to purchase some investment real estate, using equities as a "safe haven" that should return a little more than a simple bank savings account, but what a joke!   

Our 401(K), IRA, Keogh and pension plans -- all sucking wind as the downward spiral continues, seemingly unabated.  Now, we have Allan Greenspan admitting that he's over-stated the case, that capitalism would be adequately self-regulating?   I thought you were in charge, and really knew what you were doing, Allan!   

So what should a business person's response be to all of this?  How do we get this downward spiral to quickly spin itself out so we can get started on a recovery?   That's is the $64,000 question, Andrew! 

FWIW, my 2 cents worth follows:

I think we're only going to get through this by re-establishing something Stephen MR Covey capsulizes on in his book "The Speed of Trust", and through the exercise of justice for perpetrators of white collar crime.    It's not enough that we wake up every morning, committed to achieving goals, even using life-balancing principles.  We must be part of an effort to get the justice department to say "no" to excessive greed and to the lack of accountability. 

At the heart of a capitalistic society is the trust established with a handshake.  And, at the heart of management is authority, responsibility and accountability.  Scooter Libby justice is just not going to cut it!   Kenneth Lay having control over pension plans, then renigging on the promises made to -- what, some 15,000? -- employees is not going to cut it!  We need more government regulation because we cannot trust our leaders! 

We must be able to trust our leaders, our financial managers, and our clients must be able to trust us!  

If I tell my investor and owner-occupant clients, "I'm going to be looking out for your best interests", but neglect to tell them that all successful transactions end in a win-win outcome, I've missed the mark.  I've set the bar only half as high as it needs to be.   I'm not a lawyer looking to destroy my opponent, I'm a business person looking to facilitate a mutually beneficial transaction but some people think if they don't win and the other guy lose, they aren't being served well.  Hogwash.    

At the core of our economic problems is the fact that we've become this litigious society which is entirely too prone to resolve conflicts through lawsuits, instead of through exercise of fairness.  Until we get a handle on this, perhaps making a significant step back toward the value of a handshake, we're going to continue to have this "economic Armageddon".  We simply have to be able to trust the people with whom we would do business. 

Without the "Speed of Trust", the whole world grinds to an economic slowdown, or at worst, a screeching halt -- and that's about where we are right now; 10% of the population not paying their mortgage payments and 100% of the financial institutions wondering, "Why?". 

Seems like we're well on the way to a complete meltdown, with few signs of let-up in sight, so the next President of the United States -- our fearless leader -- will have his work cut out for him! 

Immediately, the President and VP will need to begin reducing fear and rebuilding our basis for trust -- in our systems of governance and justice; in our multi-national corporations; and in daily business transactions -- we can't spend all of our time suing people or promising retribution but commuting sentences when they get convicted.  And, if we want to hang terrorists but let those who would fleece our savings accounts and stash the proceeds in off-shore, tax-preferred, tax-sheltered, or even tax-free bank accounts, we'll never get back on the right track. 

I'm not convinced that having the fox (Henry Paulson) guard the financial chicken coop will play out well, in either the short- or the long-term.  What I do know is that we need leaders in charge who can exercise sound judgment and be more balanced in their approach. 

Economies won't bring prospertiy if the only policy executed tilts heavily toward trickle-down.  There has to be fairness and "spreading the wealth around" is the correct answer to Joe the Plumber.  Otherwise, the only guy who ever wins is Joe the Hedge Fund manager.   Catering to the needs of the latter is what brings the former to his knees, not a few taxes to that are collected then spread around.  

To bring this closer to home,  this principle applies to me in my business.  No transaction can be all one-sided in its outcome.  Can my clients really trust me, to be fair?  Can your clients really trust you to not only represent them, but to represent fairness in the outcome of the transaction?  (Or, for example, if you're a mortgage broker, do you fully disclose when they are receiving a "yield-spread premium" on the backend of a loan?).  

Seems to me this needs to be a main focus for this precarious time we find ourselves in.  We can't rely on the lawyers to solve this problem; all they know is win/lose.  No, business people are going to have to solve this crisis -- we can't leave it up to the lawyers.  Win-win outcomes, established through principles inherent within "The Speed of Trust" premise, is the only logical outcome that will allow us to survive, and to prosper as a capitalistic, but free, society. 

Make yours a great life -- engage people with the "Speed of Trust".  You'll never regret being honest to the core.