YOUR RANT: I am really scared about the direction of the economy.

911 REPAIR: Fear. It's the one emotion at work that almost everyone seems to be feeling these days. According to a recent Associated Press poll, almost half of us are now scared that we could lose our jobs, and two-thirds of us are worried about how we'll pay our bills. How can we stand up to fear? With courage. Which reminds me of a conversation I had with a friend's mother years ago. She knew that the heir apparent to run her company had lied on his job application. But she was scared to speak up. She said, "I know you wouldn't be scared to say something, but I am."

Everyone would be scared to speak up under those conditions. The issue isn't whether you're scared or not, the issue is, will you let your fears hold you back? That's why I offer three Do's and one Don't on how to get more courageous at work today, below. For more, check out Turknett and Turknett's book "Decent People, Decent Company" (Davis Black, 2005).

-- DO get everyone involved. Let me fill you in on a little secret. I've got an MBA, and I've been an adjunct professor to MBA students. But I think the MBA view of the world, primarily focused on short-term results, is what got us in trouble here. I'm not saying we should banish MBAs and executives from the conversation, but we shouldn't let them control the debate, either. We need to accept that the rules have changed and come up with new approaches to deal with our problems.

-- DO accept these are uncharted waters. Business loves nothing more than a case study, something that makes it easy to sort out what the options are and how we can proceed. Unfortunately, no magic pill exists to lift us from our current challenges. We can look to the past, but we also need to look away for new solutions to our predicament.

-- DO take calculated risks. I believe it was Will Rogers who said that if you sit in the middle of the road, you'll get run over. I agree. Right now, we've got to take some calculated risks. OK, I'll admit that I'm probably the least embracing-of-the-status-quo guy you'll probably ever meet. But risk-taking is now in all of our job descriptions, whether you like it or not. For example, avoid that layoff and facilitate a conversation on how to keep as many people employed as possible within your company.

-- DON'T get isolated. In tough times, networking can seem like a luxury. I couldn't disagree more. Networking is a power tool that becomes more valuable as the economy turns south. Don't limit your options by getting isolated. Put regular effort into making new contacts and then following up with them when the situations dictate.

We're all scared, but only by pulling together can we find a way out of this mess.