38 Witnessed Murder; No One Called Police

It's called the "bystander effect" and it became a focus of study after the murder of Kitty Genovese.

Genovese was stabbed to death by a serial killer in 1964 in Queens, NY. According to newspaper accounts, 38 people heard or witnessed the act as it was occuring, yet no one contacted law enforcement officials.

The exact number of witnesses--and their lack of action--remains debatable today. However, the incident spurred numerous studies into human behavior and our response to emergencies.

Pyschologists have concluded time and time again that the more witnesses present in an emergency, the less likely those witnesses will respond. Put one person in a room as someone has a seizure, the one person calls for help. Put twenty people in a room as someone has a seizure, and everyone waits for the others to act. Hence, the "bystander effect."

This has led me to a burning question: is our economy suffering from the "bystander effect?"

In other words, are we all sitting around waiting for others to act? Are we assuming that someone else will respond to the emergency? Are we simply bystanders?

Many small business owners will be the first to say, no way. They are doing everything they can to keep their business afloat. They are responding to the emergency.

But others, I would argue, suffer deeply from the bystander effect. Perhaps this effect is exacerbated by the government's stimulus plan. People assume that the government's aggressive spending package will be the solution, so we can be "bystanders" until the economy corrects itself.

Have you tracked where stimulus dollars are going? First stop: back filling budgets previously cut. Second stop: maintaining current staffing levels to avoid further layoffs. Given these two significant stops, most stimulus money is not generating new spending, at least not yet.

The government might be doing some valiant things to combat this emergency, but if we are all bystanders in this emergency, then few will respond.

So I propose that we all become responders and not bystanders to this emergency.

Go out and create some value. Determine right now that you will create value today. Recall that value is the relationship between the perceived benefit and the price. Create much benefit for little price.

In other words--perhaps in more business-like terms--create much revenue for not much cost.

If each and every person created value today, the economic ripples would be felt worldwide.

So move your business to the next level. Avoid the bystander effect and be a responder. Determine that you will create and add value today.

After all, the responders are the heroes. If you want to be a hero in this economic crisis, go out and create some value. Add value right now!