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Be Extra Kind Today

Valentine’s Day
is rough
for quite a few people.

It is a reminder
for single people
that they don’t have anyone
romantically.

Widowed people
are reminded of their losses.

It is a high pressure time
for many couples.
Will their romantic loved ones
remember the day?
Etc.

Be extra kind
to people today.

Perhaps put a dish
of wrapped chocolate
on the counter
for customers.

Or bring in
donuts
for coworkers.

Or give employees
an extra 10 minute break
during the day.

Be extra kind today.

Knowing The Future

Some events in the future
are easy to predict.

Water will become
more valuable,
for example.

The number of disabled people
will increase,
as another example.

But the average person
doesn’t want to know
the future,
especially if it is bad
and
especially if they have
to change
to avoid that bad.

You and I
and other leaders
are different.

We’re building businesses
for the future.

We increase our probability
of success
if we know what that future
looks like.

Plan for the future.

Marketing Around Valentine’s Day

It is February 12th
and this is my annual reminder
that MANY people
dislike Valentine’s Day.

I write romance novels,
stories that feature love
and relationships,
and I am very careful
about marketing around
Valentine’s Day.

I usually gently reference it
with color – pinks and reds
and with hearts, roses,
chocolates
in my graphics.

And I don’t mention it
at all
in text.

Valentine’s Day
is a love it
or hate it
celebration
with many more people
hating it
than
loving it.

Market around Valentine’s Day
carefully.

Marketing During The Super Bowl

Many of us
have the urge
to tie our marketing today
to football or, more specifically,
to the Super Bowl.

It is one of the largest events
in American sports.
127.5 million people
are expected to watch it.

But that is exactly
the issue
– they are WATCHING it.

Which means
they aren’t seeing
your post on social media
or reading your newsletter
or engaging in your marketing
at all.

(Unless you have snagged
one of the multi million dollar
commercial placements.

And if you’re advertising
at that level,
I doubt
you’re still following
my bootstrapping tips.)

Our market for today
are the non-football fans,
the people who are tired
of hearing about
a sport they have no interest in.

They don’t want to see
another football-themed post.
They want something different.

Give them that something different.

COVID, Brain Damage And Business Building

COVID causes brain damage.
EVERY bout, no symptoms, mild, severe,
damages our brain.

If you haven’t noticed it,
well…that’s not great.

I HAVE noticed it.
I’ve had COVID
at least twice
and I suffered brain damage
after each bout.

The brain damage
was, thankfully, slight.
My writing ‘voice’ had changed.
My tempo, choice of words,
pace had shifted.

I added a couple steps
to my process after that.
I read a before-COVID-written story
and then the about-to-be-edited story
and I ensure the writing is consistent.

Consider putting processes
in place
to deal with your hopefully slight
after COVID
brain damage
also.

And if you’re saying to yourself
that you don’t need this,
that you won’t or don’t
suffer from brain damage,
then I suspect you REALLY need it.

That’s not a happy realization
but accepting that will help you
to not only cope
but also achieve the success
you want for yourself.

Prepare For The Tough Times

A loved one
recently bought
a used pair of crutches.

He loves sports
and he plays them all out.
He has hurt himself
numerous times
in the past.

He figures
it is merely a matter of time
before he hurts himself
again.

THIS time, he’ll be
better prepared.

Bad times
will come.
That is merely part
of doing business.

Do what you can do
to prepare for them.

You Are Not Your Customer

I don’t read books
in a series
in order.
I usually start
with book 3
and then go backward.

I am NOT my average reader.

Most of my readers
read my books in order.
They expect the series
to build.

I design my books
and my series
to do that.

You are NOT your customer.
Don’t assume
your preferences
are their preferences.

Ask your customers.
Research them.

Fast Car And Getting Out Of Poverty

The talk of the Grammys
was Tracy Chapman’s return
and her shared performance
of Fast Car.

Fast Car is an emotional song
for me
because it is the only song
I know
that
clearly talks about the choice
between helping the people we love
and getting out of poverty.

Getting out of poverty
usually involves a stretch of time
where we can’t contribute financially
to our desperately poor loved ones’ situation.

In my case,
I didn’t send money home
for four years
while I was at university.

That meant my family didn’t have
electricity
for a while.

That meant my family sourced
the little food they ate
from food banks.

Taking away my minimum wage earnings
HURT them.

Temporarily.

We were fortunate.
My family survived the ordeal.
Our collective gamble paid off.
I got out of poverty
and I was able to take my immediate family
out of poverty also.

But it WAS a choice.
And I still feel guilty about it.

If you’re making that choice
right now,
maybe the choice
is between
sending money
to parents
and
building a business,
know that many of us
realize it is a difficult choice
to make.

And know, for some of us,
taking the risk
to get out of poverty
paid off.

Evaluating Leadership

An American buddy
was told she should vote
for Biden
because he’ll protect reproductive rights.

Reproductive rights have decreased
since he became President.
He didn’t protect reproductive rights.

That’s not a valid reason
to support him.

As leaders,
we’re evaluated on our results.

If we promise employees
they’ll have more sick days
under our leadership,
they will judge us harshly,
and rightly so,
if they have less sick days
at the end
or
during our leadership.

Expect, as leaders,
to be judged on results.

Unless circumstances
severely change,
deliver on
your promises.