Tag: covid

We Aren’t ‘No One’

Yesterday, I posted
about the precautions
we can take
to tackle the seemingly never ending
barrage of viruses.

I was told
‘No one worries
about the pandemic anymore.’

We should ALWAYS worry
about placing employees
and customers in danger.

We should worry because
that is a caring, human thing
to do.

But we should also worry,
as business owners,
because we could get
our a$$es sued off
if people come to harm
in our businesses.

The lawsuits
involving COVID
might not be happening very often now
but I suspect
they WILL happen in the future.

We aren’t ‘no one’s.
And we aren’t ‘the average person’.

We’re business owners.

Don’t be careless
with other people’s lives.

We’re Ready

There seems to be reports
of impending new pandemics
everyday
– New Variants of COVID,
Monkeypox, TB, Ebola,
Polio.

It can be frightening,
especially for business builders
who want to keep
our customers and employees safe.

The good news,
however,
is we’re ready for this.

Most of the precautions
we have installed
for COVID
– wearing masks, hand washing/disinfecting,
social distancing
– prevent or slow
the spread of these new threats.

Keep disinfectant bottles filled.
Have masks available.
Encourage our employees/partners
to wear them.

And we should
survive all this.

Employees And Team Building Activities

At client k,
we don’t shy away
from the brutal truth
and the brutal truth
is…

many executives
and managers
don’t care
if employees live or die,
as long as sales happen
and work is completed.

That was driven home
to everyone
during the pandemic…
which is STILL happening.

Mask mandates
were dropped quickly,
if they were mandated at all.
Employees are expected
to come to the office
even when they’re ill
and are likely to infect others.
Very little is being done
for the dead and grieving.

The lack of caring
is evident everywhere.

And employees
are understandably bitter.

This is NOT the time
for team building activities,
fake expressions of comradery,
or
we’re-all-in-this-together
speeches.

Let time pass
before
bringing that bullsh*t back.

Be Open To Changing Your Mind

When I first heard about
COVID-19,
I thought it would be nothing
I had to worry about.
I believed it would be stopped
before it expanded.
I thought it wouldn’t reach
my corner of the planet.

I was wrong.
Clearly.

I tracked the spread
and realized d@mn quickly
it would be a danger
to the people I love.

I changed my position,
ordered the best masks
I could obtain,
donned makeshift masks
while I waited for the order
to arrive,
long before mask-wearing was enforced.

Being open
to changing my mind
helped keep myself
and my loved ones safe.

Right now,
you and I are likely clinging
to stances
that will be proven
to be wrong.

Being open to changing
those stances
could help save
our growing businesses,
our relationships,
and perhaps
even our lives.

Have the strength
and the intelligence
to change your mind.

Calling Someone A Doomist

The current trend
is to call anyone
who isn’t 100% optimistic
about the future
a ‘doomist.’

The danger to this
is
it shuts down conversation.
It prevents us
from hearing about
not-as-happy situations
and preparing for them.
It stops others
from warning us,
from talking honestly
with us.

And that will cause us
pain
…eventually.

The future isn’t
all sunshine and roses.
Heck, the past wasn’t
happy all the time.

There were
plenty of opportunities
then
and there will be
plenty of opportunities
in the future.

But we won’t be able
to fully take advantage
of these opportunities
unless we know about
and
avoid or minimize
the challenges.

Don’t EVER call
anyone
a doomist.

Going Maskless Mid Flight

The U.S. courts struck down
the mask requirement
on public transportation
three days ago.

Mid flight, announcements were made
on U.S. carriers
and passengers were told
they didn’t have
to wear their masks.

Which horrified
cautious and at risk passengers.
They were placed
in much more danger.

The promise of safety
they were given
was broken.

That WILL impact
sales in the future.

Every time,
we take a flight,
we’re putting our safety,
our lives
in the airline’s hands.

The number one aspect
they’re selling is
safety.

And they f*cked
with that promise
this week.

What other safety precautions
will they abandon
and REJOICE in abandoning
mid flight?

That question
will stop people
from flying.

Hell, I love to fly
and even I’m having
second thoughts about it.
I definitely won’t be flying
a U.S. carrier
anytime soon.

Don’t break promises
to customers.

Order Mother’s Day Flowers Now

I ordered flowers
for my Mom
yesterday.
I scheduled them for delivery
the week before Mother’s Day.

Because I suspect
florists will run out
of flowers this year.

Mother’s Day is
the biggest flower delivery day
of the year.
Not everyone has a sweetheart.
Almost everyone
has a Mom.

Supply chains are
still extremely messed up.
Climate change is impacting
flower growing
and flower delivery.
The pandemic is still happening.

Florists also don’t want
to be left
with excess stock.
They have been going
through lean sales times.
They will likely
be cautious when ordering stock.

If you’re fortunate to have
a loving Mom,
order flowers for her now.

There aren’t
any guarantees
she’ll receive them.
Things happen.

But the odds she’ll have flowers
on Mother’s Day
will greatly increase.

COVID Isn’t Going Away

I will make a not-so ‘wild’ prediction
and say
we, business builders,
have to plan for COVID
or COVID’s cousin
to be with us
for years.

There are too many unvaccinated people,
too many people not wearing masks
in the U.S.
for it to disappear.

Americans travel often
so other countries also won’t eliminate COVID.

Unless a miracle happens,
COVID will be a factor for years.

I don’t count on miracles
when I build my business plans.

I’m factoring COVID into my strategies
and my goals.

Plan for COVID to remain.

Neil Young, Spotify And Ultimatums

Neil Young,
a polio survivor,
issued Spotify an ultimatum
– either they pull
a vaccine misinformation spreader’s catalog
or he would pull
his catalog.

Spotify chose
to continue to work with
the vaccine misinformation spreader.

That is the danger
with issuing ultimatum
– sometimes this tactic doesn’t work
in our favor.

Only issue ultimatums
when you are prepared,
as Neil Young was,
to live with the consequences.

Use ultimatums
solely
for very important issues.

What Is In It For Them?

This week,
it was revealed
that most of the politicians
pushing hard and vocally
for no masks
and no vaccinations
are profiting financially
from COVID.
They are getting rich
from people getting sick
and dying.

When I receive advice
from someone I don’t know
and don’t completely trust,
I always try to figure out
how they would benefit
from giving me that advice.

There’s ALWAYS a benefit.
And the harder people push their advice,
the bigger the benefit
there is.

I benefit from posting here
on client k.
Posting here
fulfills my promise
to previous mentors
to pass along their insights,
to pay their generosity forward.

It also forces me
to write every day,
to continue learning,
to stay current.

I don’t push hard
because having merely 1 reader
will do that for me.

When you receive advice,
always ask yourself
what is in it
for the advice giver.

Note: Earlier this week,
I mused that there was no downside
to letting people wear masks.
I was wrong.
There IS a downside
…for people like these politicians,
people who profit
from other people
getting sick and dying.
The rest of us
merely shouldn’t concern ourselves
with this downside.