“I’m too busy working on my own grass to see if yours is greener.” – Unknown

“We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing …

“Good products can be sold with honest advertising. If you don’t think the product is good you have no business advertising it.”

- David Ogilvy

Yesterday I went to see the kid-friendly movie The War With Grandpa. It’s been a long time since I’ve been to the movies. We sat the obligatory 10 seats apart from the group over, bought a large popcorn and patiently waited for the movie to start.

But first, the ads…

This week the iconic New York jeweler that makes more money from 4 simple words (will you marry me) than any other company on the planet - aired some of its dirty laundry.

As its $16 billion acquisition to LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton lay in tatters, Tiffany&Co rolled up its sleeves and started swinging punches –

Yesterday I read a news article announcing people are sick of businesses cranking up their PR machines to join the Black Lives Matter movement. Not because they don’t believe in the movement. But because the vast majority of companies are full of BS. I agree.

So here we are. So much for post-COVID. With numbers soaring, the media screaming recession and many schools and universities not opening in the fall, it seems the end to this madness is not in sight afterall.

Onward. 

We’re too busy to pay attention to the media hysteria. We have businesses to run, clients to serve, new projects to launch, supply chain issues to solve, staffing challenges to sort and consumer demand to reignite.

The way I see it every business has three options . . .

COVID. I know you’re sick and tired of reading about it. I certainly am. The media have had a field day spreading doom and fear like a suffocating blanket over the world. Nevertheless I strongly believe that COVID is an incredible opportunity for all of us - if we choose it.

You see I think of COVID like the "Sorting Hat” in Harry Potter - the magical Wizard’s hat that quickly sorts new students into different houses. Every business, and every employee will be “sorted” thanks to COVID - into success or failure. The very good will rise …