Looking Through A Forest Fire At The Dawn

Photo by Cata on Unsplash.

I thought we were smarter than this.

I thought that we were too smart to let ourselves be outflanked, outrun, outgunned, and brought to our knees by a virus – by a dumb bug that only knows how to do one thing but does it over and over again, with ruthless efficiency.

I thought we were smarter than a bug, but I guess we aren’t.

As a result, we find ourselves shut up at home, waiting for the moment we can emerge and, blinking at the sun, gaze upon a shattered economy and a country down 100,000 to 200,000 valuable souls, depending on the breaks.

And for all I know, I may be one of the victims of that shattered economy.

So what do we do? Do we sit by blankly and watch it all get swept into the sea? Do we try to come to terms with the new reality? Or do we fight … but against who or what?

These are not easy times. There are no easy answers – for you or I or thousands like us. All I have are a few recommendations that may or may not work.

Here’s what I’ve got.

Photo by Green Chameleon on Unsplash.

Keep working.

Writers, keep writing. Designers, keep designing. Marketers, keep marketing. Keep up your chops. 

If you’re not writing for clients, write for yourself. Dig out some old projects. Re-read that novel you have half-finished. Compose a song or two, in memory of John Prine. Write a blog post for your website. 

Prime the pump with some Red Smith or M.F.K. Fisher, or subscribe to Sam Sifton’s marvelous cooking newsletter over at The New York Times, for a combination of both.

Feed your creativity. Pull out that art project. Reface your website. Try working in a different medium. 

Some of it might be dark. It’s okay; some of my songs these days are pretty dark. I’m alright spending some time in a dark place and understanding its dimensions. I know it won’t be forever, and I know how to work my way out.

Alternately, dust off that business concept you mothballed months ago. Does it still have legs? The combination of distance and a new economic reality may render it useless – or invaluable. 

Case studies at the George Santayana School of Marketing (“Where Those Who Don’t Remember The Past Are Condemned To Repeat It”) aren’t just restricted to big topics – you know, like the Great Depression or the rise of fascism. Sometimes reviewing what you created in the past gives you ideas of how to approach the present and future. 

Maybe you’ll find a hidden gem or create something wonderful; maybe you won’t. But remember what Lord Byron wrote: “’ “Tis to create, and in creating live/A being more intense, that we endow/With form our fancy, gaining as we give/The life we image, even as I do now.”

It’s worth a shot, just for that.

Photo by Dan Meyers on Unsplash.

Be kind.

I had an old friend speak to two of the classes I teach. He’s famously talented and has had a long and successful career in everything from TV writing to non-profits to politics.

He talked to the classes in early March, the last time we met in person, as we were watching COVID-19 grow in fury, like a thunderhead on the horizon.

He was talking about crisis communication, and one of his key points was: show empathy.

“Too often we forget that people are hurting,” he said, and he couldn’t have been more right.

People are hurting, for a myriad of ways, so be kind. Show empathy. Be there for them. Give them what you can.

I feel so bad for my students. Many of them are seniors, and this is not how they planned on going out – virtually, into a bombed-out economy. 

I don’t have much for them – talks about the way the old world worked, speculations on how the new world might work. But I give it to them gladly. And I understand if they can’t make the normal class period, and make sure they have all the resources I can create for them. And I try my best to connect them with people who might be able to help them.

It’s so, so little. I wish I could do so much more. But it’s what I have, and I share it with them.

Do what you can to help others. Don’t think about the downstream business benefits – not right now. For now, be unselfish.

Listen.

There are a lot of voices around. Some are pretty foolish; you know who they are. There are demagogues and morons intermingled with clear-eyed pragmatists and keen long-range planners. And then there are people who are hurting, and just need someone to hear them.

When I did Katrina cleanup a decade ago, I was told before I left, “Sometimes the most helpful thing you can do is listen. These people, everyone around them has gone through the same thing, and they don’t want to hear another disaster story. But you haven’t – so let them talk to you. And listen to what they say.”

Okay, so we’re all in this together. Ford and Chevy have told us that; it must be true. But we can still listen with fresh ears, and think, “That could be me.” Because, you know, it could.

I could tell you that our house still has holes in its roof and smashed gutters from a July 2019 storm. The deck has been torn off and the two-story workshop out back has been dismantled and there’s so much more work left to do, and you might listen, but it’s not necessary. We’re okay. We’re all healthy for now. That’s what matters.

But, hey, I appreciate the offer.

Photo by Matt Howard on Unsplash.

Look ahead.

Look ahead at what?, you say. And you’re right. Looking into the future is like looking into a forest fire. You know there’s a back side to this, but you don’t know if it’s as bad as what you’re looking into.

But here’s what you can do: You can ask: How can I be of value to someone when we’re all doing business again? What will be valued? What will they need?

See, empathy isn’t just to make other people feel better. The right application of empathy can help you, too.

If you can figure out what people will need, and you can fill that need, you’re profiting from the targeted application of empathy.

For a long time I’ve called marketing “the targeted application of common sense,” which it’s been. But if post-corona marketing becomes the targeted application of empathy, that wouldn’t be the worst thing. In fact, it would be a wonderful thing.

And the beauty is, you can start now. Today.

So what are you waiting for?

What are we all waiting for?

In case you’ve forgotten in all the Zooming and pajama-wearing and home-schooling, tomorrow starts today.

Let’s get to it.