Tag: Climate Change

Flexibility As A Selling Point

Yesterday,
I talked about how
the world is challenged right now
and flexibility will be
key to success
going forward.

Flexibility will also
be a key selling point
for products/services
going forward.

It WILL influence
more and more buying decisions.

Flexibility could look like…

Offering cancellation insurance.

Making it easy for customers
to rebook services.

Allowing customers
to change delivery times.

Giving customers
a credit
when they cancel.

Allowing customers
to switch from pick up
to delivery.

Accommodating customers
with last minute bookings
or changes.

Flexibility WILL be
a selling point.

Can you factor flexibility
into your product or service?

Flexibility Will Be Key

A loved one and I
were planning to go on vacation
soon.

This vacation will likely
be postponed
due to a strike.

We’ll be okay financially
as we had planned
for a possible delay.

We had thought that delay
would be
climate change
or pandemic (COVID or the next one)
related.

It was a strike,
something entirely different.

Flexibility will be key
to success
going forward.

Try to make your plans
as flexible as possible
AND
try to increase
your customers’ flexibility
when using
your products/services.

Things happen.
They will continue
to happen.
Plan for that.

Celebrate Results

We’ve been fortunate
to have quite a few
bumble bees
in our neighborhood.

Bumble bee numbers
have been decreasing
significantly
the world over.

So a rebound in
their numbers
is something to be celebrated.

And it should be celebrated.
Because that rebound
was due to people taking action.

Pesticides were banned.
Dandelions were left
to grow.
Leaves were left
for the bumble bees
to winter in.

If we don’t celebrate
this success,
along with pointing out
that not everyone is seeing
the same success,
people will stop
taking these actions.

This, of course,
applies to business building
also.

People want to know
their actions
result in successes.

Celebrate your successes.
And acknowledge the hard work
that drove those successes.

Know Your Hard Limits

A wet bulb temperature
(100% humidity)
of 31C/87.8F
will kill a healthy person
in three hours.

That’s a hard limit.
Nothing we can do
will change it.

We could stay still,
hydrate,
sit in the shade,
and none of that
would help us.

While building our businesses,
it is important
to set our hard limits
also.

One of my hard limits
with the romance novel business,
for example,
is I would never
write a romance novel
that didn’t have
a romantic happy ever after.

A romantic happy ever after
is my definition
of what a romance novel is.
I wouldn’t try to trick
the reader into reading
a different type of story.

Decide now
what you would never EVER do.

Write it down.

Stick to that hard limit.

If The Time Frame Is In Three Years Or Longer

World leaders have been promising
to take action
on climate change
at the earliest
in 2030.

That’s 7 years from now.
That leader is unlikely
to remain in their role.
The future leader
is unlikely
to keep
the past leader’s promise.

That action isn’t happening.
The world leaders know this.
They’re saying sh*t
just to get the media
off their backs
and to appease
some gullible supporters.

This is true
in business also.

If the time frame
is three years
from now
or longer,
that action
or project
isn’t happening.

Watching For Signs

Romance writers know
when people start banning
books featuring diverse characters,
romance novels will be next.

We watch for
that movement.
We try to stop it
from happening.
And we prepare
because it WILL impact us
next.

I know if the UK is experiencing
extreme weather
and climate change,
my section of the world
will likely experience it
next.

I prepare
for those weather events.
I plan around them.

There are almost always
warning signs
foretelling big changes
in our lives
and in our businesses.

Figure out
what the warning signs
for your situation
are.

Monitor them.
And then prepare
for any changes.

A Super El Niño Is Coming

Scientists are discussing
what month it will arrive
but almost all of them are agreed
– a Super El Niño is coming.

This means temperatures
will likely increase
and
precipitation
will likely decrease.

Extremely.

When you’re planning events,
you might not want
to plan for them
to be held outside.

You might wish to install
shade on the patios
if you operate a restaurant.

You might wish to ensure
the air conditioning is functional
on your delivery vehicles
and in your buildings.

You might wish to increase
the water and other beverage budget
for your office.

Hey, cooled bottles of water
might be a good giveaway
at events.

A Super El Niño is coming.
Prepare for it.

Take Calls Outside

Climate will shift significantly
in the next couple years.

There will be
unbearable heat waves
and likely as harsh winters.

So spend as much time
outside
(safely)
as you can.

Take those business calls
outside.

Work on the website
on your balcony
or in your backyard.

Meet with customers,
if you can,
on a restaurant’s patio.

When you’re walking
from your office to the car,
late at night,
take a minute
and look up at the stars.
Breathe in that
cool night air.

We run our own businesses.
We can often work
wherever we like.

Spend more time
outside
while we all
still can.

Listen To The Warnings

A buddy
called me a doomer
a couple of days ago.
He said
he didn’t want to hear
any more negativity.

That’s fine.
I prefer not to talk
about possible challenges.
I would rather
talk about TV shows
and other trivial topics.

I shared those insights
because I’d feel guilty
if his already struggling business
failed
or he and his family suffered hardships
because I HADN’T warned him.

No one wants to tell you
bad news.
It is a total bummer
for the messenger.

We tell you bad news
because we care about you,
because we feel
you should know about it.

You don’t have to act on
these warnings.
But, at the very least,
listen to them.

It is a communication
of caring.

Issues On Repeat

You will hear
me mention
both the pandemic
and
climate change
often
here on client k.

There’s a reason for this
– climate change
and the pandemic
will drastically shift
how you and I do business
and how we build businesses.

Neither COVID
nor climate change
are over.
And they likely won’t be ‘over’
in our lifetimes.

Because,
buckle up, beyotches,
we’ve merely started
to see
the impacts
of both of these issues.

Will all the impacts
be negative?

No.
There will be opportunities
created for nimble business builders.

But there WILL be impacts
and I’d be doing a sh*tty job
if I didn’t mention
what those impacts
might be.

COVID and climate change
will alter business
going forward.

Stay informed.