What do we have to gain?

Whenever we listen to someones opinion on any subject it’s worth asking. What have they been through? What are they doing now? And how does this affect their point of view?

Not that their view is necessarily right or wrong. But understanding the biases that cultivate it give us a clearer picture.

More importantly we need to do this when we form our own opinions. What biases are at play? What haven’t we considered?

You can see this clearly with the pandemic. People take a stance based on what they have to gain (or lose).

Make a choice

Please all, and you will please none.

Aesop

Regardless of what you think about the current pandemic in Alberta I think we can all agree that our government has tried to please everyone, and in doing so has pleased no one.

After this is over

Now that there is light at the end of this pandemic tunnel I’ve been thinking about what I don’t want to go ‘back to normal.’

  • Masking up when you’re sick (or just staying home). In Asia it has been normal for quite awhile to wear a mask when you are even a little bit sick to protect others. And just staying home in general when sick, I remember a friend who had flawless attendance in high school. But he quite often would show up sick to maintain his streak. I wonder how many sick days of others resulted because of this.
  • More outside time. The pandemic pushed a lot of us to spend more time outside, including myself. Let’s keep it this way, it’s good for us after all.
  • Proper hygiene. It’s always a shock when you’re in a public bathroom and someone leaves without washing there hands. And it used to happen more often than you would think.
  • Less shared snacks at events. See above on proper hygiene. Nothing like someone diving with their hand into the shared popcorn bowl.

That’s it for now, I’m sure there are more.

We’re out of that, and that, and that too

I was at a restaurant the other day and had an interesting experience. I ordered three different menu items at different times. Each time the waiter went away and then came back 5-10 minutes later to apologize.

“I’m sorry we don’t have that item available.”

It is COVID times and I get it. There are various reasons one might not be able to order certain items at a restaurant.

Wait staff are frontline salespeople. It’s their job to understand a client’s needs and serve them appropriately. This means knowing what is not currently available on the menu.

And this is true across every industry. Salespeople need to understand the needs of their customers and then decide if they (or their firm) can deliver towards those needs.

Saying “we can’t help you” or “we don’t have that” early is way better than trying to explain it later.

Ask specific questions get specific answers

“Have you been in contact with anyone who has tested positive for COVID-19?”

In the next 6-12 months a lot more people are going to be answering yes to this question.

Better add “in the last 14 days” or “and is actively sick” or there is going to be lots of confusion.

Or more conveniently people might stop telling the truth to avoid explaining their circumstances.

Before the next wave

There is going to be a wave of people saying that ‘this whole thing was blown out of proportion.’

That nothing really bad happened so what was the big fuss about?

Unfortunately these people don’t understand the power of exponentiality.

We’ll hear things like ‘the over-reaction decimated our economy.’

Actually not acting soon enough decimated our economy. Thanks to exponentiality.

Hopefully we don’t make the same mistakes next time around.

Pandemic burnout

Watch out for it.

I didn’t know what it felt to get close to burnout until late last week. Lying in bed in the morning I just didn’t want to get out. I wasn’t physically tired, I just felt completely mentally exhausted.

Two things I’ve learned from this.

First, burnout during a pandemic can really creep up on you. You feel like you should have more time (being at home, etc) but in reality you don’t (especially if you have kids). From that perspective it’s very easy to fall into the trap of doing too much! Take my advice, rest when you need to and if possible reduce your working hours. You’ll actually end up being more productive in those shorter hours!

Second, my wife is incredible. I knew this already but now I really know it. I honestly don’t know how she is able to take on all that she has with unwavering patience.

I don’t know where I would be without her.

Revenue is revenue

Two days ago I wrote this post on speeding tickets.

And today this article on CBC was shared with me. It speaks about how speeding ticket violations in playground zones are up for the first time in years.

It’s interesting.

One side says it’s not about revenue.

The other side says it is about revenue.

I think if it’s listed on your income statement as revenue, then it’s about revenue. Sure safety is a factor. But revenue is revenue.