As money managers typically seek protection against sharp share declines, the Vix is considered a gauge of how fearful investors are.

CNN: Fear index plummets to a 5?-year low

If you are fearful of how your manager will react during the discussion then ask a colleague to accompany you who is familiar with the situation and willing to stand up for you (and for what is ethically right).

FORBES: Stand Up For Yourself When Someone Else Takes Credit For Your Work

Even so, investors have been fearful about how InPhonic would smooth out its operating cash flow needs (thanks to the changes in the way it counts revenue), whether it would run out of money (the company has been using more cash than it generates) and whether there would be a stock repurchase.

FORBES: Goldman Throws InPhonic A Lifeline

How does that make us more fearful, more hesitant, less innovative and optimistic?

FORBES: Do You Want To Help The United States Recover? Here's How

The housing bubble burst in 2007, and banks and investors began to be fearful--who had this junk, and how much did they hold?

FORBES: Magazine Article

Assuming Edwards was fearful of the affair's becoming public, wouldn't he wonder how she could just find her way from the Tarheel State to a gated community in wealthy Santa Barbara?

NPR: John Edwards And The Role Of The Media

Once the economy stabilizes and people are less fearful, then I do think that we're going to have to start thinking about how do we operate more prudently, because there's no such thing as a free lunch.

WHITEHOUSE: Presidential Press Conference