Tag: is the pandemic over

If People Say They’re Sick, They’re VERY Sick

A business building buddy
grumbled
that he thought
one of his employees
was faking illness,
trying to get out of working.

Confessing to being ill
at this point of the pandemic
is, for some,
a confession of weakness.

It also brings
social isolation
and social condemnation.

The sick person
is viewed as an unsafe person,
a risky person
to be near.

People are more likely
to fake being well
than fake being ill.

So when they tell you
they’re ill,
they’re likely VERY ill
as in
vomiting
and having the sh*ts
without any warning
level of illness.
(This is happening
with one of the dominant
COVID variants.)

No one wants
a person ill like that
at the office.

If someone says
they’re ill,
believe them.

Don’t Insist People Work Sick

Okay.
I get it.
Due to COVID,
people’s immune systems are sh*t
and
that means they’re sick
much more often.

You are trying
to run a business.
You need employees.

So you’re considering
insisting
employees come into work
while they’re sick.

Don’t insist on that.
That’s cruel
and it is a lawsuit
waiting to happen.

If that employee dies
or suffers extreme harm
while working ill,
their families will
sue your a$$.

No one has the time
or the money
for that.

A better solution
is having extra staff
on call.

Train and ‘hire’ more people
than you need.

The constant illness
is our new normal.
Plan for it.

CES And Superspreader Events

I attended this year’s
CES
(Consumer Electronics Show)
in Vegas.

A lot of people attending
this mega conference
were ill.
It was definitely
a superspreader event.

The CES organizers
must have anticipated this possibility.

They had signs erected
everywhere,
telling participants to wear masks,
social distance, test,
and stay away if they were ill.

They gave away
black KN95 masks.

They gave away
test kits.

They had hand sanitizer stations
positioned everywhere.

Ventilation systems in the buildings
were blasting.

There were displays outside.

The CES covered their a$$es.
They did their part
to stop illnesses.

They can truthfully say to the media
and others
it wasn’t their fault
if
only 5% or fewer participants
wore masks.
(Which meant, of course,
the CES didn’t have to supply
many free masks.)

They took precautions.
Participants chose
to spread illness.

When organizing an event
or, f@ck,
when running a business,
cover your a$$ also.

Illness is circulating.
Lawsuits and bad media coverage
will happen
due to it.

Supply masks, tests
and hand sanitizer
and improve ventilation.

The cost of this is less
than you likely believe
and the benefits
will be enormous.

What You Don’t Track WILL Kill You

Governments stopped tracking
COVID infection numbers
hoping
no one will blame them
for the pandemic escalating.

That decision
is killing people.

People think COVID went away.
They’re not taking precautions.
And they’re dying from COVID.

This type of
if-we-don’t-track-it
it-doesn’t-exist
thinking is being applied
to climate change
and other problems.

And the results have been
equally disastrous.

You might be tempted
to apply this thinking
to your own business.
Sales are bad,
for example,
so you are considering
stopping tracking sales.

This will kill your business.
We have to address problems,
not ignore them.

Continue tracking key numbers
even or especially
when those numbers are bad.

Make Decisions Based On Reality

I told a COVID-safe buddy
that I bought
another personal air purifier
to take with me
when I eat in restaurants
or attend events.

She told me
if the restaurants improved
their ventilation,
I wouldn’t need that air purifier.

Sure, but that isn’t reality.
I have to make decisions
based on reality,
not the best case scenario.

Right now,
I suspect we all want to base
a decision
on a best case scenario.
(I am definitely included in this.)

Like…

Everyone who bought
product 1
will buy product 2.

or

One of our posts
will go viral
and thousands of people
will discover our business.

or

That big problem with our product
will no longer be seen
as a problem
with prospects and customers.

These best case scenarios
COULD happen.
I could also win the lottery
tomorrow.

But the odds are against that.

Base your decision making
on reality.

You Can’t Solve A Problem If You Don’t Talk About That Problem

If you run a business
that involves
partnering with people,
employing people,
selling to people,
COVID is,
right now,
a big f*cking problem
for you.

You and I likely don’t know
how big of a problem
it is
for us.

That drop in sales?
It is likely COVID-related.
That slow turnaround time?
It is likely COVID-related.
That demand for increased wages?
That is DEFINITELY COVID-related.

And the problem of COVID
isn’t getting solved quickly.

Why?

Because no one
is talking openly about the problem.
Many people
are pretending it doesn’t exist.

And that doesn’t
lead to any f*ckin’ solutions.

If you want
problems to be solved,
start
by talking about them.

We Can’t Afford To Be Ill

I can’t afford to be ill.

I live in Canada.
My stance doesn’t have
anything to do
with the financial costs
of medical care.

It has to do with time.
I don’t have the spare time
to be ill.
I don’t WANT to spend
time being ill.

I have books to write
(products to produce),
businesses to run,
other things I’d prefer
to do.

So I take precautions.
I wear a mask.
I wash my hands.
I improve ventilation
in spaces I occupy
(I have a personal air purifier
I hang on an lanyard
and wear around my neck.)

All of this
takes mere seconds.

I can then focus on other things.

And I save countless days
not being ill.

You and I can’t afford to be ill.

Preventing illness
has a huge return on investment.

Make that investment.

Wishing To Be Wrong But Preparing To Be Right

I hope to be wrong
about climate change
and about COVID.

Being wrong
is the best case scenario
and f*ck,
I want that best case scenario
to happen
so f*ckin’ bad.

But I’m preparing
to be right.

I’m preparing for food shortages.
I’m preparing for mass disability.
I’m preparing for floods.
I’m preparing not to have
the ability to write books
or expend a lot of energy
running the business.

If I’m wrong,
and I hope
I WILL be wrong,
I’ll have extra food.
I’ll have extra funds.
I’ll have a business
that almost runs itself.

There’s no significant downside
to preparing.
But there is a significant downside
to not preparing.

Hope to be wrong
regarding the dire predictions
but prepare to be right.

Test Before Events

I test for COVID
before events.

I do this
because I don’t want
to get other people
sick.

I would feel horrible
about that.

Plus being the spreader
of illness and death
wouldn’t help my branding.
At all.

I also test
because
I know,
based on the numbers
that COVID
will be at the event
and people will become ill.

When that happens,
accusations will fly.

And I’ll have photo proof
I am less likely
to be the person
who spread the illness.

(Because I also mask
at events,
I get asked if I’m ill
and I can say
I tested that morning
and I was all clear.)

Consider testing
for COVID
before events.

Changes Take Resources

Many companies
are reinstating mask mandates
due to COVID.

They are spending time
and resources
to reinstate these mandates.

As they spent time
and resources
to remove these mandates.

A couple months from now,
I suspect they will
spend time
and resources
to remove them again.

And then a few months later,
they’ll spend time
and resources to reinforce
the mandates again.

Until the vaccines arrive
that stop the spread of COVID
(which ARE in development),
COVID isn’t going anywhere.

Save time and money
and keep the mask mandates.

Change distracts
everyone.

And mask mandates send
a signal
you care about your employees.