Tag: is the pandemic over

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.

A Small Business Owner’s Risk Is Not Everyone’s Risk

I was chatting with
an online buddy
and she told me
she insists every customer
entering her store
wears a mask
because she can’t afford to get sick.

She is a small business owner.
If she’s ill,
her income drops to next to nothing.
She doesn’t have paid sick leave.
She doesn’t have insurance
to cover her illness.
She is on her own.

The calculation of risk
for us,
for business builders,
is significantly different
than the calculation of risk
for other people.

We can’t afford to do
things other people do,
like run around unmasked,
not have an alternative power supply,
etc.

Factor that
into your decision making.

Constantly Ill

A dear friend caught COVID
two weeks ago.
It took her a week
to semi-recover.

Now, she’s caught COVID
AGAIN.

Some of the newest variants
can be caught
every two weeks.

Think about that.
We might be infected
every two weeks.
It takes a week
to semi-recover.

Even without considering
long term impacts,
that means being ill
50% or half the time.

That would REALLY
f*ck with our productivity
and our value of life.

While we’re waiting
for society
to take action
on cleaning the air
in indoor spaces,
we should wear
masks.

We have businesses
to build.
We can’t afford
to be ill 50% of the time.

How To Gain A Strategic Advantage

I’ve been following the disaster
that is this year’s
Giro d’Italia.

Day after day,
top competitors
have dropped out
due to COVID.

It has become
quite clear
that one of the biggest
strategic advantages
in that race
will be
merely staying healthy.

I strongly believe
that is true now
in ALL fields,
not only competitive racing.

Staying healthy
or healthier
means we’re able to do more sh*t,
go more places,
think clearly.

All of that
will increase our chances
of success.

Do what you can
to stay as healthy as possible.