See his Little Big Things for more insights.
Opportunity
Tough Times? Matchless Opportunity!
“This is the chance to catch your competitors napping.”
“Grab your weakened competitors’ customers ASAP!”
“Think positive!”
“One man’s disaster is another’s main chance!”
There was a lot of ... UNMITIGATED CRAP LIKE THAT ... going around as the financial crisis of 2007++ deepened.
On the other hand, I think there is an appropriate use of the word opportunity in tough times—and it’s a million miles from the nonsense above.
That is, a crisis is a pure (yes) and “simple” (no) ... TEST OF CHARACTER. And perhaps one of the most important one or two or three such tests we’ll face in our adult lifetime.
And I think we should think about it that way.
Instead of leaping to “grab our staggering competitor’s customers,” maybe we should react with great compassion toward that competitor—not by paying his bills, but by making it clear that we have neither the intention nor the desire to rip his customers out from under him (or her).
Instead of “think positive,” try ... “think thoughtful.” Mindless optimism is just that—mindless. We must deal realistically with the crisis—and, arguably, exhibit a level of decency that knows no bounds. Such behavior is neither “positive” nor “negative.” It is what it is: decent.
You get the drift, I’m sure. It is a time of matchless opportunity, a matchless opportunity ... to exhibit character. (Or not.)
Sneaky fact is, such a display of character is probably damn good for business when the comeback occurs—people have very long memories of thoughtful behavior!
No comments:
Post a Comment