Isn't that what's happening in our businesses today?  Many assets, particularly the fancier financial assets that most of us didn't understand or hold anyway, were way overvalued.  Now they are "adjusting" to more realistically reflect their true value.  In some cases we are finding that true value is zero.  The financial world that does such a wonderful job of making money from our greed is very fearful.  And rightly so. As we get more "real" about what we buy, invest in and own we will shun those complex financial "house of cards" investments. 

In our world of physical assets we don't need to be so fearful.  Sure - it's there, acknowledge the fear, but don't give it power.  Recognize that there is real value in what we do with our physical assets and with the very people who maintain and operate them.  The demand for our products (cars, white goods, consumer goods, etc.) may be down, but it will not go away entirely.  And we know from repeated economic cycles over centuries, that demand will grow again and eventually we'll be stretched so far that we can't keep up.  Now is the time to prepare for that growth.  Invest in our present and future capacity.

Companies decry the lack of employee loyalty and declining work ethics.  Companies used to depend on those to enhance their productivity (i.e.: production value divided by the cost of inputs).  To make money when demand is reduced as it is now, we must be more cost effective, not just less costly.  That means getting more output for less input.  That's what we deliver by managing our physical assets well.  While demand is down you have spare human resource capacity - why not invest that spare human capacity in future physical capacity?  Now is the time to invest in your future.  Stop focusing on the business you don't have and pay attention to what you do have and will have. 

Is your cup half empty?  Or is it half full?  Shift your perception and your reality will shift with it.