These days, everyone is talking about “adapting and pivoting to the new normal,” whatever that means. The reality is COVID-19 is forcing people to believe they need to somehow change everything they are doing, including their messaging, who they are and how they do business.
They couldn’t be more wrong.
This kind of thinking is reactive, not creative. It’s not a time to pivot or adapt, but to create and expand into the contraction and fear. So, stop adapting and start creating.
Clearly, you can’t control everything around you; but you can control whether you attack or defend.
In business for 35 years, I’ve learned this lesson the hard way. When you spend all your time adapting and changing to fit the current situation, you will find yourself and your business going sideways or shrinking. I spoke to someone recently who was told, “due to COVID, you need to change your messaging.” As a result, his business suffered – not because of COVID, but because he changed his messaging.
How will you define your brand and grow your business if you continue to change to fit every situation? There will always be another situation. When COVID is over, it will be something else. Who will you be? What will you represent? What does your company stand for? Despite economic contractions, threats of pandemics, political influences, protest, boycotts or whatever is popular at the moment, you MUST get clear about who you are and what you are creating.
If you don’t spell all of this out for people who work for you and buy from you, those who work with you and who could buy from you will just become confused. Regardless of what’s happening around you, stay true to your mission. My mission hasn’t changed one bit this year – I’ve become more focused and more insistent. We are still doing a 10X Growth Conference in Las Vegas in 2021. I am buying as much real estate as I can and we recently closed a monster deal.
Adapting to your surroundings is reactive. There’s a reason they call a chameleon’s ability to change its color a “defense mechanism.” How will you achieve anything if nobody can see you? I didn’t get where I am today by blending in, but by standing out. Elon, Bezos, Jobs didn’t compete or blend in. These titans expanded during contractions. I’m not a chameleon. I’m a creative person who continues to make MY reality THE reality.
Whether you are self-employed, a manager, a CEO or an hourly employee, you are in command. Clearly, you can’t control everything around you; but you can control whether you attack or defend.
Great generals don’t play defense and wait for the enemy to attack. They go on offense; but before they lead their forces into battle, they have a plan and execute it, even when the unexpected happens. Of course, things rarely play out as planned; but when the organization executes the plan, they maximize the chances of victory.
Who knows what’s going to happen this year or next? I assure you it will get crazier! The question is whether you get crazy and take dumb advice like, “soften your message,” “now is not the time to promote,” “back off right now and give it some time,” “wait until after the vaccine or the economy …” or whatever.
Now is the time to push, persist, expand and execute. If you want my help, reach out to me and see if you qualify to be part of my 10X Challenge. This is NOT the time for feelings, emotions and opinions. It is time for ACTION.
Don’t adapt to your surroundings, create them – and then dominate your environment.
