The world is changing rapidly before our eyes. If you advise decision-makers, they crave your leadership right now. But it’s a terrifying moment — you can’t just charge blithely ahead, fast forwarding past a crisis that has affected all of us. Whether you call yourself an analyst, a thought leader, a public speaker, or an…
TV spots and other advertising right now are mostly wasted. Consumers view your normal ads for normal products against a backdrop that is not remotely normal. People are shut up in their houses; people are dying. This is not a time to get people to test drive SUVs or open a new credit card or…
Of course your inbox is full of virus-driven emails. And of course they mostly suck. By now, most companies have sent their stupid email and then learned to shut up. But not all of them. If you have nothing to say in this difficult time, say nothing. It’s rare that I see an email that…
You’re stuck at home. You have internet access and, maybe, a little more time to yourself. Should you write a book? This advice is mainly for those who write business books and self-help books to gain influence — my primary audience. But I hope that all authors currently sheltering at home during the coronavirus crisis…
My wife and I homeschooled our two children. One has now graduated Tufts University, magna cum laude, and the other is studying computer science at the University of Massachusetts. They’ve grown into smart, moral, and caring people. Here’s a little of what we learned from schooling them that may help you survive the next few…
My inbox is full of irrelevant messaging. There are the messages from everyone from my eye doctor to the bike shop about COVID-19. And then there are marketing pitches that were clearly created months ago and are totally irrelevant now. There’s only one thing on people’s minds: surviving the pandemic. If that’s all people are…
Every corporation you’ve ever done business with is now filling your inbox with “reassuring” messages. Most of them are companies you’ll never work with again, so they’re just an annoying background buzz. But some of them are actively dopey. Things are bad enough — this is no time for more self-inflicted brand damage. And now,…
I’m usually a hardass. But I find myself feeling a lot more generous right now. Yesterday, I went shopping at Whole Foods. It was the day after Trump’s address, after the WHO had declared a pandemic, after the stock crash, the emergency declarations, the NBA shut down. The local schools and library were announcing that…
These are trying times. A microscopic virus has transfixed the nation in fear. Our parents and grandparents are at risk, even as the government shares mixed messages about what is safe. Institutions of all kinds must step up and preserve the American way of life against the viral threat. One institution has failed us. Scrabble….